


Hybrid

by nereno



Series: Lycoi [2]
Category: K-pop, iKON (Kpop)
Genre: Alternate Universe, BoyxBoy, Fluff, If you haven't read 'The Cloudy One' you should cuz you wont understand anything lol, M/M, Omega Verse, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-10-26 05:26:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10780497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nereno/pseuds/nereno
Summary: Junhwe didn't think that a life without Lycoi would be so uneventful. Thankfully, his little wolf friends aren't going to let him live a peaceful life so easily.





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> So, hi guys, thanks for being here and giving attention to 'Hybrid', I'm very thankful. For those who ended up here without meaning to, I just want to make it clear that this is a SEQUEL to another work, 'The Cloudy One'. Both are part of 'The Lycoi Serie' and this is the second part. Both works are closely linked to one another and you really, truly won't understand anything if you haven't read the first part so if you haven't, I recommend you do.
> 
> Thank you once more for reading my work, it makes me very happy.
> 
> The story takes place after Junhwe left the Hospital and is back to his former routine. Lemme just make it clear that it's not gonna get dark at all and it's mainly gonna be fluff, unlike the first fiction of this serie. So, no more dead people, YAY!
> 
> Just like for the first one, it is still an AOB/verse and it is NOT rated M as I don't plan on adding any 'scenes'.
> 
> Please, keep in mind that English is not my mother tongue and thus I do sometimes make stupid mistakes. Feel free to correct them, it's always nice to help (´◡`).
> 
>  
> 
> That is all, I hope you'll enjoy your reading ~

  


  


1st April 2017, Seoul.

  


  


Junhwe took a deep breath as he glanced down at the cup of coffee in front of him. He could feel the apprehension building up inside his core, he couldn’t wait for the elder to arrive. It oddly felt like they were going on a date and it made Junhwe’s heart beat faster.

The previous day was a complex blur of feelings and images, and Junhwe couldn’t really remember what had happened. He had somehow found Jinhwan again after four months of being kept in the dark regarding the Lycoi activities and even if he had been overcome by a rush of emotions the first few minutes, the curiosity had started to take over rapidly. He had many questions to ask the elder.

Before he had been able to, however, Jinhwan had rushed away so quickly that Junhwe hadn’t managed to run after him. If he had been completely dejected and sad at first, he had understood shortly after Jinhwan’s antics. The elder had sent him a text, telling him that he was still needed in the hospital for now and that they would meet up the day after to talk.

  


And so, there he was, sitting at a table in a very packed café in the middle of Seoul. Junhwe had never been there but he had heard that their coffee was pretty good and even if he didn’t like the bitter taste and would definitely not consider himself being a coffee lover, he knew that Jinhwan liked it. That was why he had chosen that place, even if he had had to order a lemonade.

Junhwe sighed as he ran a hand through his newly bleached hair before glancing up at the blue sky. It was a very mild day and although it was only March, Junhwe felt hot in his black sweater. At least, being under the warm sun with a lighter hair colour was way better than with his former jet black hair.

Donghyuk had been the one to suggest that Junhwe dyed his hair. He had never thought about it before but it hadn’t seemed like such a bad idea at the time. He had wanted to go for a few shades lighter, like a light brown and had somehow ended up with blonde hair that almost looked white from afar. It made him look like an old man and even if he didn’t like it and definitely regretted trying to dye his hair on his own, Donghyuk had told him that he looked stunning. Junhwe hoped Jinhwan would think the same.

  


After a few more minutes of endless waiting that felt more like hours to Junhwe’s rushing heart, a very familiar mop of vibrant orange hair finally turned the street’s corner. The elder’s hair looked shorter and instead of falling on his dark eyes, they were pulled up with gel. He looked his age, a lot manlier and pretty much far from the cutesy appearance Junhwe remembered.

He looked different, but still the same. The way his eyebrows furrowed as he looked ahead, his dark eyes lost on the crowd of people and his nose scrunched up in a very familiar way made Junhwe painfully aware of the time they had spent separate.

  


Jinhwan looked around the streets, his eyes stopping on the café’s entrance before he roamed his gaze around the tables. Junhwe raised his hand up awkwardly before waving slowly, trying to attract the elder’s attention without looking too dumb to the other customers.

Jinhwan’s eyes shot sideways towards Junhwe’s moving hand, then downwards to meet his eyes. For a second, Junhwe thought he forgot how to breathe. He stared at Jinhwan dumbly, as his heart picked up.

The sight was so familiar and yet foreign at the same time. Jinhwan’s dark eyes still had that same glow that always managed to get Junhwe’s heart skipping a few beats and even if he looked tired, to Junhwe’s eyes he was still as beautiful. He hadn’t even realised that he had missed Jinhwan that much. 

  


Jinhwan swiftly made his way between the other tables before finally dropping down on the café’s chair in front of Junhwe, on the other side of the small table.

Now that he was right in front of him, Junhwe couldn’t even remember what he was supposed to ask. He had so many things to say that he couldn’t tell where he was going to start. He could only stare at Jinhwan, feeling his ears heat up when the elder returned his gaze without blinking.

After a few seconds of silence, Junhwe cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to get himself together. As he was about to finally speak up, a waiter arrived to take Jinhwan’s order, stopping Junhwe in his hardly obtained momentum.

When the man was finally gone after Jinhwan had ordered a very much black coffee that would probably taste like hell itself, Junhwe took a deep breath before locking eyes with the elder once more. Jinhwan was looking back evenly, his lips slightly pulled up in a small smile.

“ _You look tense.”_

Junhwe swore his heart stopped beating for a few seconds. Jinhwan’s voice was still as sweet and gentle as Junhwe remembered it to be and he had been so focused on its melody that he almost forgot to answer.

“ _It’s been a while.”_ Junhwe uttered back, unsure of his own sentence.

He couldn’t really think of anything to say in particular. It seemed as if he had completely forgotten how he used to act with Jinhwan before they had to part.

With one final deep last breath, Junhwe started really focusing. He needed to ask questions, he knew he wanted answers and he would never get any if he didn’t start asking now.

There seemed to be too many things Junhwe needed answers on, but there was definitely one thing that seemed more important than any other.

“ _Is Dongmin alright?”_ He breathed out, feeling his heart beat pick up in apprehension and fear.

Jinhwan’s smile widened as his eyes disappeared into small crescents. He let out a small and mellow laugh before shaking his head in a childish manner that completely clashed with his unusually mature appearance.

“ _Your friendship is adorable.”_ Jinhwan muttered, more to himself than Junhwe.

But Junhwe had heard him, and it pained him to realise that he needed to disagree on that statement. The last time the two of them had spoken, it had ended up in a fight that could have even become physical. Junhwe reckoned that Jinhwan had probably not heard about it, but he knew that they had permanently altered that bond and that things would probably never be the same between them, if they ever were to meet again.

It didn’t mean, however, that Junhwe didn’t regret his actions or that he didn’t care about Dongmin at all any more. He still considered him to be his best friend and he couldn’t help but be worried about him, even if that care probably wasn’t mutual.

“ _To answer your question, yes, Dongmin is doing quite fine.”_ Jinhwan then said, resuming their conversation.

Junhwe raised his head to stare at the elder just as their waiter arrived with Jinhwan’s order. He put down the black coffee – which was in fact darker than anything Junhwe had ever seen in his whole life – before swiftly turning away, leaving the two of them alone once more.

Junhwe was glad that Dongmin was alright, but it felt oddly painful to think of his best friend, being all happy and surrounded by his Lycoi friends while Junhwe was being miserable in college.

He knew that things probably weren’t all great, especially with the war.

That was when Junhwe suddenly remembered the main topic he had questions to ask about.

“ _What about the war?”_ He inquired, voice grave and body tense. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to hear what Jinhwan had to say about it.

“ _It is officially over.”_

Junhwe’s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at Jinhwan who was casually drinking down his coffee as if it wasn’t nor more bitter than death, nor hot as fire.

“ _All of the Snowy Ones, which also means all of the Icy Ones, have been killed during the many battles that have happened over the past few months.”_ Jinhwan stated as he put his cup down.

Junhwe nodded, slowly taking the new information in. He had figured that if Jinhwan had been able to meet up with him, it meant that things were getting better for his pack, but Junhwe had definitely not thought that the war would actually be over. He had somehow believed that it would never be and suddenly knowing that after short four months all the suffering and the pain were truly over seemed unthinkable.

He was glad, certainly, but it also made him worried and confused. Junhwe wondered if it would even mean anything to him, he didn’t even know if he really ought to be happy. He hadn’t even fought for that war.

He had lost his mother to it, but he hadn’t been the only one.

“ _There must be a lot of casualties.”_ Junhwe whispered, his throat tight.

Jinhwan seemed to tense up too and Junhwe could only imagine how strong the pain the elder had underwent was. Losing a pack member, losing family, losing friends, it was something Junhwe did understand and he could only feel empathy as he stared at Jinhwan’s hunched shoulders.

“ _Yes, indeed. Many.”_ Jinhwan whispered as he glanced down at his cup of coffee.

Junhwe didn’t feel like asking him for names. He had seen way too many on the sheets four months ago and he didn’t even want to know how many more had been savagely murdered in the meantime.

“ _Dongmin became the Main Alpha, since Namjoon… Well, since he passed away.”_ Jinhwan then said, his voice tender.

Junhwe felt a small smile tug at his lips. He remembered seeing the man’s name, he remembered how Haneul had broken down in his arms and even if it saddened him to know that such a great man as Namjoon was gone, Junhwe felt happy for Dongmin.

His best friend was a man of responsibilities and morals. Junhwe didn’t know anything about what being a Main Alpha implied, but he knew that Dongmin had leadership and that people couldn’t help but like him. 

“ _Jimin became the Main Omega.”_ Jinhwan then added, his voice even more somber.

It only took a second for Junhwe to realise what it implied. After all, last time Junhwe was informed, Seokjin was still missing, but it apparently wasn’t the case any more. 

He let out a deep sigh as he thought of the Main duo. He hadn’t been close to them, really, but he was sure he could have been.

“ _And you’ll never believe that one, but Dongmin appointed Haneul as the Lead Alpha.”_ Jinhwan then said with a small laugh.

Junhwe wanted to say that he was surprised, but he wasn’t really. He had known all along that Dongmin and Haneul could get along very well. After all, Haneul was also a strong Lycos, well liked among the pack, it made sense for him to be entrusted with important matters.

Junhwe leaned back against his chair before stretching his arms above his head. It was only early in the after noon and yet he already felt tired. He had assignments to work on with Donghyuk for a few upcoming projects and they were going to need to really start taking care of it.

But it was a Saturday and Junhwe figured that he could take care of that another day, for now he wanted to spend time with Jinhwan. And talk to him.

“ _So are you going to come back to college?”_ Junhwe asked nonchalantly as he sipped down on his lemonade.

“ _Well, I am, but not the others.”_ Jinhwan said as he averted his gaze, visibly uncomfortable.

Junhwe didn’t really know who Jinhwan was referring to, but he knew that he was probably not going to like what was about to come.

“ _The few Lycoi left in the Swamp Pack are all living together in Namjoon and Seokjin’s old flat. They’ve decided to focus on getting the pack back on track before thinking of their human life.”_

And that meant that Dongmin wasn’t coming back to college. It meant that he wasn’t coming back at all for a while.

Junhwe bitterly nodded as he glanced away towards the skyline. He was really happy to know that at least Jinhwan was coming back. He wouldn’t feel as alone with a familiar mop of orange hair to warm up his heart, but he knew that he was going to miss Dongmin, Haneul and even Jimin.

But Junhwe understood. They had, as pack, things they needed to take care of even if the war was over. He realised that they all had went under a lot of pain and sorrow and Junhwe was willing to give his best friend more time to heal.

He just hoped that he would forgive him.

  


“ _So, how have things been for you?”_ Jinhwan then inquired, bringing Junhwe’s gaze back on him.

Junhwe took a few seconds to come up with an answer. He felt alone, but it had been worse the first month. He was getting better and coming back to an empty home didn’t seem to hurt as much as before.

“ _It’s been easier.”_ Junhwe whispered with a small smile that widened when he saw the surprised look on the elder’s face.

T he surprise quickly faded to be replaced by a grin that lit up Jinhwan’s face with a genuine happiness that Junhwe had not seen in months. He could feel his heart slowly picking up as a comfy warmth spread out throughout his body, and Junhwe knew that it wasn’t from the shining sun.

  


  


Once the two of them had drunk their drinks down and had finished battling to decide who was going to pay the bill – Junhwe had won by using a magisterial paper to beat Jinhwan’s rock – they slowly started roaming the streets of Seoul.

Not much was said, but the silence wasn’t tense or odd, it was merely comfortable and Junhwe had missed this kind of atmosphere.  They were walking side by side, simply enjoying each other’ company as they slowly made their way out of down town Seoul and into the more residential area.

As they walked, their hands occasionally brushed and even if Junhwe would never admit it, he did scoot closer on purpose in a childish attempt at making them brush even more often. He didn’t see it, but it brought a smile to Jinhwan’s lips.

  


After a while, Junhwe began to realise that even without meaning to, they had started to take the path towards his home and he didn’t really know how to feel about it. Ever since his mother’s death, Junhwe had invited no one over at his house. He had somehow felt like it would be disrespectful to his mother, he wanted it to be kept as her haven.

But he reckoned that if it was Jinhwan, it would be fine. After all his mother and the elder used to know each other and Jinhwan had already been there a few times.

  


Once he stood in front of the deathly cold door, ready to enter the constant loneliness the house was basking in, Junhwe took a deep breath before pushing the keys in. He waited for a split second for his heart to clam down before opening the front door, Jinhwan in his tracks.

As they remained motionless in the dark and chill living room, the usual quietness and emptiness of the house didn’t seem as oppressing as they used to to Junhwe. It was as if Jinhwan’s presence was warming up the dark walls and for the first time in months, Junhwe didn’t feel like a stranger in his own house.

He knew that he had merely been craving a bit of company and now that he finally had someone to talk to that knew everything about him finally made him feel at ease.

“ _Aren’t you too lonely?”_ Jinhwan then asked, his voice incredibly loud in the silence of the house.

Junhwe didn’t need to answer for Jinhwan to know what he was thinking. He knew the elder could smell just how much Junhwe had felt lonely.

“ _I feel lonely too in my flat without Dongmin.”_ Jinhwan whispered, a bitterness to his voice that seemed foreign to Junhwe’s ears

He had never really understood how deep Jinhwan and Dongmin’s relationship had been but he could tell that the elder was hurt that Dongmin had chosen to leave the flat to live with his pack.

  


Junhwe sighed as he walked into the living room before dropping down on the sofa. He was quickly followed by Jinhwan as he flopped down besides Junhwe, their knees touching. It brought a small smile to Junhwe’s lips to finally be able to share such simple moments and feel Jinhwan close again. He had missed it.

“ _Hey, Junhwe...”_ Jinhwan then muttered, his voice shaky and unsure as he quickly glanced up to meet the younger boy’s gaze.

The elder’s dark eyes were filled with apprehension and it made Junhwe’s heart swell up with expectation as to what was about to come. The last time Junhwe had ever seen Jinhwan like that had been on the day he had asked him to come see the starts and it had turned into the best moment in Junhwe’s entire life.

“ _What about you move in with me?”_ Jinhwan asked as he averted his eyes, ears red.

Junhwe was so surprised and at loss for words that he could only stare at Jinhwan’s face, his mouth agape. It wasn’t that the idea displeased him, after all, he had lived with Jinhwan for a few weeks in the den and even a few days in his flat. He was very thankful that the elder had thought of inviting him so that they could both feel less lonely and he would have immediately accepted if there wasn’t the house.

What was he supposed to do with it? 

“ _I meant, paying the rent on my own is tough, we know each other, we attend the same college… It’d be_ _easier and safer_ _than to look for_ _a stranger to_ _help out...”_ Jinhwan went as his face turned crimson.

Junhwe simply nodded as he tried to come up with the best answer. He didn’t want to leave the elder hanging, he could already see the way his face was becoming redder each second passing by with no answer from Junhwe.

He just didn’t really know what he could say. The truth was that he wanted to run away from that house, leave everything in it behind and live with Jinhwan to put an end to his loneliness but he knew he would eventually regret it. The house was filled with memories of his mother, he couldn’t simply abandon what he had left of her.

“ _I’ll think about it, thank you for your offer.”_ Junhwe said, a genuine smile on his lips as he turned to stare at Jinhwan.

He just needed time to figure out what to do with the house, the furniture, the memories. He was willing to move in with Jinhwan, especially if it helped the elder with the rent, even if it was indeed quite sudden.

Jinhwan gave an awkward nod as he stood up from the couch, quickly imitated by Junhwe as the two walked up to the front door, Jinhwan stopping right in front of it. He looked tense and stressed and Junhwe found it adorable that it seemed to matter so much to him to ask such a simple thing.

“ _I should get going.”_ He stuttered as he ran a milky white hand through his  now shorter orange locks.

Junhwe nodded as he opened the door for Jinhwan to leave. Once he stood out of the house, he turned around to look one last time at Junhwe. His ears were red and his eyes glinting as he whispered with an endearing half smile.

“ _That hair colour really suits you by the way.”_

And less than a second later, Jinhwan had turned the corner of the street, leaving a red-faced Junhwe to stand in the door frame, mouth agape but it closed quickly after to stretch out in a happy grin that Junhwe hadn’t felt on his face for months.

  


  


  


  


2nd April 2017, Seoul.

  


  


When Junhwe woke up the next morning, the butterflies in his stomach still hadn’t disappeared and the constant flutter of his heart was just as present, both constant reminders of his reunion with Jinhwan from the day before. He could hear ringing in his ears the older man’s last comment about his hair and he made a mental note to thank Donghyuk for convincing him to dye it.

Thinking of his friend suddenly reminded Junhwe that he really needed to call him to choose a place and a time to meet up and work. He really wished he could just give up on his college work and spend the whole day catching up with Jinhwan but he knew his grades would definitely not agree. Plus, the project was a team thing and Junhwe couldn’t leave Donghyuk on his own.

It took endless minutes for Junhwe to finally roll out of bed and drag himself to the bathroom. It was only a shower and a breakfast later that Junhwe found the heart to finally pick up his phone to see that he had quite the number of text messages to read.

Unsurprisingly, all of them were from Donghyuk, spamming him to know where they could meet and threatening to burn down Junhwe’ notes for the upcoming test if he didn’t answer before 10am. His eyes quickly shot up to the upper corner of his phone where the time read 9:50. He blessed all heavens and quickly typed in an answer to Donghyuk before going back into his room.

Junhwe lazily packed the things he would need to work in his bag while waiting for an answer. They always met around 10:30 in one of the nearby café and ate lunch together and Junhwe knew he almost could already head towards their usual place without even looking at his phone.

Only a few minutes later did Junhwe’s phone buzz with a message from Donghyuk telling him that he was on his way – as expected – towards their usual café. Junhwe stretched his arms above his head slowly before picking his bag up and walking down the stairs towards the main door. 

Just as he was about to leave, he caught sight of his own reflection in a small square mirror hung on the wall next to the front door and unconsciously stared at himself. He slowly raised a hand up to his wild clear locks and felt a small smile settle on his lips as he pushed the door open, his heart lighter than ever.

  


  


When he entered the small café, Junhwe quickly noticed that Donghyuk was already sitting at their usual table in one of the corners, his laptop and many sheets spread out in front of him. His gaze was focused on the screen as he furiously pressed the keys, breaking the silence of the place. A few warm chocolate strands of hair were falling in front of his eyes but he looked too concentrated to mind.

Junhwe walked up to his friend and sat down in front of him in silence, studying him silently. He knew better than to interrupt Donghyuk when he was this focused and chose instead to get his own laptop out before walking up to the counter to order a lemonade. When he sat back down, Donghyuk wasn’t typing any more and was looking at him, his face serious.

“ _So what did you do yesterday that we couldn’t work?”_ He asked slowly as he sipped on his own lemonade. There was no bitterness or anger in his voice, but a genuine curiosity as he stared evenly at Junhwe.

“ _I was with a friend that I hadn’t seen in a long time.”_ Junhwe answered, trying to keep things as vague as possible.

“ _He’s also a wolf lover, right?”_ Donghyuk asked with a knowing smile as if he expected Junhwe to know what he was talking about.

But Junhwe didn’t really know what Donghyuk meant and it made his heart beat faster in fear and confusion. The only link between wolves and Jinhwan was the fact that he was a Lycos and that wasn’t something that was supposed to be known by just anyone, especially not Donghyuk.

It was then that he suddenly remembered one of the conversation they had had a few weeks before, when Junhwe had first admitted to Donghyuk that where he went every Friday at 4 was the forest near Gonjiam. It was well known for the numerous wolves living there and Donghyuk had joked about it. He had said that Junhwe had went the wrong path and should have gone to an animal care college. It had caused Junhwe to laugh awkwardly and nod before swiftly running away, saying he had things to do.

He really didn’t feel comfortable talking about anything linked to the Lycoi, even if it was about mere wolves. That one topic was something that, to Junhwe’s dismay, came around often since Donghyuk was also a _‘wolf lover’_ , as he said.

Junhwe slowly raised his gaze up to Donghyuk’s face to find his friend’s black eyes still staring at him. His face looked serious and his gaze was searching as if he expected Junhwe to say something in particular. But as nothing came out of Junhwe’s mouth, Donghyuk’s serious face slowly fell to be replaced by a small smile as he shook his head.

“ _I’m just pulling your leg man.”_ He said with a small laugh that seemed forced. 

Junhwe forced a small smile too before taking another sip out of his lemonade and opening a new tab on his computer.

  


The two of them didn’t talk about it any more throughout the following two hours of work. It was due for next week but they really needed to start working on it. The subject was about how animal psychology could be linked to human psychology and the aim was to compare one specie with mankind. Donghyuk had insisted that they took wolves to study, which had surprised Junhwe at the time, but he was now glad he had agreed.

Donghyuk was a complete encyclopedia when it came to wolves and working with him on that assignment had been one of the easier task Junhwe had ever done in his life.

They had been so focused on their work that the only thing that finally forced them to take a break was Junhwe’s stomach, rumbling loudly. It was already past noon and Junhwe’s light breakfast had clearly not been enough. 

They slowly packed their things, talking about everything and anything, the atmosphere comfortable and pleasant. Just as they left the café and started to walk towards their favourite to eat at – which was a very unhealthy fast food place – Junhwe felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He quickly took it out, curious as to who would be sending him a text.

It was something that he really didn’t like to admit but Junhwe hadn’t many people that were sending him messages. He still had his old group of friends’ phone numbers but they didn’t talk much any more. He did have Dongmin’s but they hadn’t talked in months and the only friend he really chatted with via phones on a daily basis was Donghyuk.

Since his friend was standing right next to him as they entered their favourite place and were attacked by the strong smell of greasy fries, it only left one person and it made Junhwe’s heart beat faster in apprehension.

As he had expected, it was indeed message from the elder. Junhwe slowly felt a smile stretching out on his lips as he read the message over and over again. It took him quite some time to really understand that Jinhwan was indeed asking him if he wanted to eat out tonight and the mere thought of going on a date with the elder made his heart flutter.

“ _Junhwe, what are you going to eat?”_ Junhwe heard Donghyuk’s voice but he didn’t bother looking up.

“ _Anything, just the same as you.”_ Junhwe he answered offhandedly as he quickly typed an answer to Jinhwan, his palms sweaty.

He was staring so hard at his screen, an idiotic grin gracing his features that he missed Donghyuk’s pout as he sighed and turned to the counter to order for both of them. Junhwe put his phone away back into his jeans pocket to help Donghyuk get their trail to a table before sitting down.

“ _What was that about?”_ Donghyuk asked as Junhwe opened his box of French fries.

Junhwe looked up, eyebrows raised in puzzlement as he stuffed a dozen of fries in his mouth. Donghyuk’s black eyes were staring back evenly, an amused glint lighting up their darkness.

“ _You seemed really excited looking at your phone, that’s not something I’ve seen before.”_ He stated simply as he started eating his burger.

Junhwe chose not to answer but picked up his own burger instead, stuffing his mouth very gracefully with junk food once more. He could feel his ears burning and he knew that his face was probably redder than usual but if Donghyuk noticed, he didn’t say anything about it. His friend remained silent as well but chose instead to stare at Junhwe with a small knowing smirk.

  


It was an hour later that the two of them finally left the fast food place before starting to roam the busy Seoul streets aimlessly. They had both agreed on the fact that they had worked way enough for the day and they deserved to spend some time under the warm sun to relax. 

Minutes were quickly passing by and before Junhwe knew it, it was already 4 in the after noon. He lazily stretched his arm above his head as they both came a stop at a cross walk, waiting for the traffic light to turn red.

Junhwe gave a glance to the blue sky, feeling the sun warm up his face pleasantly. It was a very mild day and he had very much enjoyed it so far, even if he knew that it was about to get much better.

Once they were on the other side of the road, Junhwe quickly fished out his phone to check the time and decided that he should start going home if he wanted to have the time to get ready.

“ _I’m going to head back home.”_ Junhwe stated, making Donghyuk turn suddenly towards him, his face looking quite puzzled.

“ _It’s still early though.”_ Donghyuk almost whined as he glanced at his own phone.

Junhwe shrugged before looking away from his friend’s suspicious stare. Junhwe knew he was acting odd as they usually stayed out quite late and that was what was probably surprising Donghyuk but Junhwe couldn’t really give him an explanation. After all, what was he supposed to say? That he was having a date, with a man at that, whom he had not seen in the past four months but it’s cool since he’s a half human being?

He could have lied at some parts but Junhwe had never been a great liar and he knew that if he tried, he would probably find a way to bust himself. 

So he simply waved at his friend before walking down another road towards his house. He would need to send a text to apologize but for now he was quite in a rush and he didn’t really feel like being late.

Jinhwan had asked him to meet him in front of a restaurant he had picked at 6 that Junhwe knew to be at least thirty minutes away and considering that it was already half past four, he needed to hurry.

The elder had mentioned that it was nothing fancy and Junhwe knew that he wasn’t supposed to dress to impress but he at least wanted to look good which is why as soon as he had been back home, he had rushed to the bathroom. He had showered the morning and he hadn’t done any kind of sports but he reckoned that showering before going out on a date was probably a good idea.

It didn’t take long for Junhwe to get ready. After his shower, he had thrown on a plain white shirt and black jeans, simple and casual but still better than any of his old worn out hoodies. He loved them for their cosiness, but he knew that it probably wouldn’t be a good choice for a date. He just hoped that he wouldn’t look too plain next to Jinhwan.

Junhwe was really impatient to see what the elder would look like all dressed up, the mere thought of Jinhwan dressing up on purpose just to meet him at a restaurant made his heart flutter. Junhwe just wanted to match Jinhwan’s proper appearance.

He didn’t really know what do to with his hair as he had never really been good with making himself look good, and so he had just pulled it up with a bit of gel as he always did. He then put on the less worn-out leather jacket that he could find in his wardrobe and left his house. It was a quarter past five when he finally sat down in his car before turning the engine on and heading towards the restaurant.

  


  


Once he arrived in front of the restaurant, Junhwe took a very deep breath to calm his raging heart down before leaving his car. The place seemed to be a Chinese restaurant, which really eased Junhwe since he knew it was food that he liked.

He had really been scared to enter some really fancy restaurant with French words everywhere that he wouldn’t have been able to understand.

As he approached the entrance, Junhwe could feel his palm become sweaty and his heart beating faster. He was more nervous than he had ever been before and he simply prayed for the elder not to notice, even if he knew that the chances were very low considering his Lycos nose.

Junhwe took another deep breath for good measure before pushing the door open, immediately welcomed with the strong smell of fried food and cooking fish. It made his stomach rumble, even if he had eaten not so long ago.

He looked around the restaurant, noticing the prettiness of the red walls and the intricate carving of gold lines amidst them. The table were of a warm wood, a colour close to reddish brown that looked to be made out of mahogany. Junhwe could see a few paintings and a few sculptures here and there, giving the place a very proper vibe and even if Jinhwan had told him that it wasn’t too fancy, he was really worried about the price.

Just then, a young waitress walked up to him and asked with a heavily accentuated Korean:

“ _A table for one?”_

Junhwe shook his head as he explained to her that he was here accompanied but the other person had probably not arrived yet. For good measure, she gave him a table for two in one of the corners and after Junhwe gave her the elder’s name, she disappeared to ask at the front desk if Jinhwan had already arrived.

It took Junhwe another deep breath to calm himself down. The stress was slowly starting to fade away now that he was sitting at a table, not late and well dressed. He still had the time to regain a bit of composure in a vain attempt to change his smell so that Jinhwan wouldn’t notice anything.

He simply couldn’t help the flutter of his heart as he thought back on all the memories he had with the elder. He hoped that they could get just as close as they used to be, and even closer.

Junhwe simply wished things would turn alright for the two of them.

  


  


(6067 words)


	2. Discovery

  


  


2nd April 2017

  


  


Junhwe stretched his arms above his head before fishing his phone out of his pocket, looking for any new messages from Jinhwan. He hadn’t been waiting for long, no more than five minutes and yet he felt like he couldn’t wait any longer.

Thankfully, only a few seconds later, Junhwe caught sight of the main door opening and by rote looked in the direction of the movement, feeling his heart beat pick up when he recognized Jinhwan.

Much like Junhwe himself, Jinhwan was wearing simple clothes, a plain black shirt that struck strongly with the milky whiteness of his showing collarbones and slim blue jeans that emphasized his more than slim legs. He was holding his jacket with one arm as he ran a hand through the short orange locks that were still pulled in that same strangely manly way.

Junhwe’ eyes then rose to the elder’s face, feeling a small smile settle on his lips as he took in the familiar cat-like lips and dark eyes as Jinhwan roamed his gaze around the room.

Junhwe did a small wave with his arm, feeling just as stupid as he had felt only a day ago at the café. Thankfully, Jinhwan’s eyes swiftly shot towards the table Junhwe was sitting at, his face lighting up in recognition.

  


It took him only a few seconds to reach the table Junhwe was sitting at before flopping down, a huge grin on his face.

“ _I’m really happy you came.”_ Jinhwan said as he smoothed down his hair a bit ruffled from the wind outside.

Junhwe nodded at that, not really sure what he could answer. He had been more than delighted to be invited and for nothing in the world would he have not come but Junhwe reckoned saying that out loud would make him sound way too desperate.

Soon enough, silence settled upon them and it felt awkward. Junhwe had never really been a social butterfly and it was always in situations like these that he hoped he wasn’t so hopeless.

Thankfully, Jinhwan always managed to find things to say.

“ _So, what did you do today?”_ he asked, a small smile gracing his features.

“ _I worked on an assignment with my partner, Donghyuk.”_ Junhwe answered, noticing the way Jinhwan’s brows furrowed at the mention of the name.

Junhwe could understand where the confusion was from. After all, Jinhwan had never met him before and had most definitely never heard of him either.

“ _Is he a friend of yours?”_ The elder asked in what sounded to be a wary voice to Junhwe’s ears.

Junhwe swiftly nodded, paying close attention to Jinhwan’s behaviour. It wasn’t like Junhwe was trying to fool himself into believing that Jinhwan was jealous, but the way the elder had glanced away, his ears slightly red made Junhwe want to push it a bit more.

“ _He’s the closest friend I have right now.”_ He said as he looked around the room, avoiding eye contact.

If Junhwe missed the small twitch of Jinhwan’s lips, he definitely heard the bitterness in his voice when he spoke up shortly after.

“ _Yeah, I surely can smell that.”_

Junhwe’s eyes rushed back up to Jinhwan face, feeling his heart beat immediately increase when he took in the elder’s scrunched up face and clouded dark eyes. He was glancing away, his cheeks puffed out and lips curled down in a small pout that made Junhwe think more than ever that Jinhwan was just too adorable for words.

He wanted to believe that Jinhwan low-key meant that he didn’t like smelling anyone on Junhwe and the younger was very much aware of how possessive that was for a Lycos. The thought of Jinhwan being jealous brought a small smile to Junhwe’s lips as he thought back on the many occurrences on which Jinhwan had mentioned his smell.

It suddenly brought a question to Junhwe’s mind and didn’t have time to think his sentence through as the words left his lips without him even having time to make them go through the filter of decency. He was just too curious for his own good.

“ _I never got to ask you if you ever liked my smell.”_

At that, Jinhwan’s eyes shot up to meet Junhwe’s, the surprise clear in the dark orbs. Junhwe could feel his heart beat increase in apprehension. He knew very well what liking someone’s smell meant for Lycoi.

“ _It’s strange.”_ Jinhwan said after a few seconds, his answer making Junhwe’s stomach drop in disappointment. Jinhwan must have noticed the change in Junhwe’s feelings, either by his dejected face or by his most likely changing smell as he quickly added: _“But in a nice way!”_

Junhwe almost snorted. _“That doesn’t make much sense.”_

“ _I like it.”_

Jinhwan’s voice had been so small and the sentence so sudden that Junhwe thought for a second that he had dreamt it but the fidgeting of the elder and the way he was looking away with his cheeks bright red as if he was ashamed made Junhwe believe otherwise.

A small satisfied smile made its way onto Junhwe lips as a comfy heat spread throughout his body, the idea of Jinhwan finally admitting that made Junhwe feel weirdly fuzzy in a very nice way.

  


The good thing about Jinhwan finally saying these words – that Junhwe didn’t even know he had been craving – was that it made the younger feel more confident regarding the red hair’s feelings. He felt less worried and on edge knowing that the attraction could be mutual. The downside however, was that now Jinhwan was completely embarrassed and looked to be very intrigued by the painting of a swan on the nearest wall as he kept staring at it with very red cheeks.

Junhwe cleared his throat awkwardly, feeling his own cheek heat up. Jinhwan was still very keen on avoiding Junhwe’s gaze as he was now glancing around the restaurant, his lips thinned out and his brows furrowed.

It almost looked like he was frowning in a very cute manner that immediately brought a smile to Junhwe’s lips. The younger let his eyes roam around Jinhwan’s face shamelessly, feeling his heart swell up with an unknown affection. It was scaring him how he could remember so well each mole’s emplacement and each elegant curve of his features, and yet he was liking every second he got to stare at the elder’s perfect face.

He knew that he probably was being completely biased and he could see how to some people, Jinhwan’s eyes could be a bit too small, his nose too straight, his face too round, but somehow, despite that Junhwe still thought that he was the most gorgeous man he had ever laid his eyes upon. He loved every single little bits that composed his figure from the way his long eyelashes brushed against his cheeks to how his eyes disappeared when he smiled.

Without even realising it, Junhwe’s eyes slowly descended to stop in Jinhwan’s lips, feeling his mouth becoming suddenly dry and his heart beat picking up. He wondered what would Jinhwan’s reaction be if he suddenly kissed him in the middle of the restaurant without any warning. He would probably angry, but Junhwe reckoned it could almost be worth earning Jinhwan’s wrath if it were to feel once more the ghost of the elder’s lips on his.

  


Junhwe was suddenly thrown out of his reverie as a waiter arrived, handing them the menus and asking for the beverages they desired.

If he had been very sad to be interrupted in his intense staring, Junhwe almost regretted the moment the waiter left, leaving the two of them to stare at one another in an utterly awkward silence.

Junhwe then noticed how Jinhwan’s focus suddenly shifted from his face to his bleached hair as his lips curled up in an affectionate smile. Junhwe felt his stomach do loopings and couldn’t help but smile back, remembering the earlier compliment on his new hair colour.

He then looked up to Jinhwan’s own hair, feeling his smile widen even more at the hair-do. He really thought it gave the man a more mature vibe and Junhwe was enjoying every single part of his manlier appearance.

“ _I like you hair too.”_ He then said, letting the words flow out of his mouth before he chickened out.

The few seconds it took for Jinhwan to react seemed to be the longest in Junhwe’s entire life. He had felt his hear beat pick up and his face warm up, being all flustered from a simple compliment on someone’s appearance as he glanced away, unable to hold the other man’s gaze. He really needed to work on his social skills.

“ _Thanks.”_ Jinhwan then replied, making Junhwe attention shift back to the elder.

Jinhwan was smiling the way Junhwe loved the most, when his eyes crinkled at the corners and his whole face seemed to be lit with a genuine and sincere happiness. It forced a grin out of him and it made Junhwe painfully aware of how much he smiled around the elder. It also made him aware of how little he had smiled for the past months.

He was really happy to be able to see Jinhwan again.

  


For the second time of the day, Junhwe was cut in his admiration of Jinhwan’s face when their waiter arrived with their drinks and ready to take their orders, which made Junhwe glance down at the menu in a rush and reading the first thing he had seen on the list before ordering it. He hadn’t even taken one glance at the meals offered ever since he had arrived and he didn’t even regret it. He had been staring at something way better.

  


  


Thankfully for him, the meal he had chosen had turned out to be a simple noodle plate with shrimps which had tasted like heaven. Jinhwan had ordered meat and that pork had looked so good that Junhwe had almost asked the elder to give him a bite but he had resisted the urge, thinking that it would make him look to desperate to interact with the elder. Even if, well, he kind of was.

Paying had been easier this time around, both agreeing that they should just pay for what they ate, making it simpler for everyone. They had spent their meal making small talk about studies and life projects, and even if Jinhwan hadn’t straight out mentioned his offer, Junhwe knew that he should really start thinking about what to do with the house.

  


  


When they left the restaurant, the first thing that hit Junhwe was the strong chill wind, making his whole body freeze up. The sun had set, letting the pavement to be basked in the moon’s faint glow and the temperature to cool down. Junhwe knew, after checking on his phone that it was now nearing 8pm and even if they had spent almost two hours together, he didn’t feel like leaving just yet.

Once he stood in front his car, looking back at the elder, Junhwe tried to rack his brain for anything that would allow him to stay with Jinhwan just a bit longer but it seemed as if he couldn’t come up with anything.

To his surprise, Jinhwan was probably just as desperate Junhwe felt since he then spoke up.

“ _Do you, maybe, want to, uhm, come over to my flat? I actually have something to give you.”_ He said as he glanced away, playing with his key cars.

Junhwe had no idea if the elder really did have something for him and even if it was an old pair of boxers that had been forgotten, he would gladly get them back just for the sake of being able to stay with Jinhwan more.

“ _Yeah, sure.”_ Junhwe answered, trying to keep his voice neutral.

It was really hard for Junhwe not to squeal when Jinhwan’s face suddenly relaxed, all worry slipping from his figure as a carefree grin made his way onto his perfect features.

  


  


The drive to the flat seemed endless to Junhwe. For a moment he had almost thought he had been following the wrong car but then the familiar white building had come into view, forcing a tired sigh out of Junhwe’s lips. He just wanted to get out of his old tacky car already and be able to smell Jinhwan’s familiar scent that the flat was most likely basking in.

Walking up the three flight of  stairs was the most tiring thing Junhwe had probably done in the past year, the lazy college life taking away all his stamina. He was completely winded when he finally arrived in front of the opened door leading inside the flat, Jinhwan waiting for him there.

  


Junhwe didn’t hesitate before flopping down on the sofa, trying to catch his breath. He could see from the corner of his eyes Jinhwan going into his room before coming out soon after with two plastic bags, once very small and another bigger one.

He looked embarrassed and almost sheepish as he stood in front of Junhwe, his gaze stuck on the floor.

“ _So, well, Dongmin told me it was your birthday three days ago and I thought I could give you something...”_

For a second it was as if the air had been knocked out of Junhwe lungs as he stared wordlessly at Jinhwan’s red face. He had purposely tried to ignore his birthday and hadn’t told anybody, not even Donghyuk. Junhwe hadn’t really felt like celebrating his 20th birthday in his lonely home, and for the first time of his life, without his mother. Even if she had always been a very busy woman, she had always found a way to be available for Junhwe’s birthdays and the thought of having a party without her had seemed completely unimaginable. 

It wasn’t like Junhwe had been craving presents, he didn’t really care, but it really warmed his heart to know that Dongmin remembered and had told Jinhwan. Junhwe knew his best friend like the back of his hand. He knew he had probably done it on purpose so that Junhwe wouldn’t feel too bad about this first of many lonely birthdays that were to come.

It almost brought him to tears.

“ _Thank you, Hyung.”_ Junhwe said with a genuine smile, gratefulness dripping from his voice.

Jinhwan then sat down next to him, dropping the bigger plastic bag in his laps.

“ _We didn’t really get to wrap them, though. Sorry.”_ Jinhwan said with an apologetic smile as he scooted closer, bumping shoulders with Junhwe.

Junhwe shook his head with a smile, waving the apology off. He really couldn’t care less about tearing the wrapping. He quickly fished the gift out of the bag, feeling the smooth fabric against his finger tip. Junhwe swiftly unfolded the white piece of clothing and held it, arms extended, in front of his face.

It was a plain white hoodie and for a second Junhwe was a bit confused as to why Jinhwan would give that to him, especially since he had another one. But then he remembered that the onther one he had was a coffee stained one.

“ _That’s from Dongmin.”_ Jinhwan then added.

Junhwe tensed up, realisation flooding over him. He opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it shortly after, unable to form words. He then noticed a small piece of paper at the very bottom of the plastic bag and quickly fished it out.

Junhwe quickly unfolded it, feeling Jinwhan’s eyes on him. It was a small note and there wasn’t much written but it only took one glance for Junhwe to recognize Dongmin’s terrible handwriting.

  


I’m really sorry for the hoodie my coffee ruined,

I hope you’ll forgive me.

Love you, idiot.

Dong.

  


It took everything Junhwe had for him not to start crying right there and then. He had really been worried about his friendship with Dongmin. He was his oldest and most precious friend and he really regretted the way he had acted with him.

These two short sentences were all Junhwe wanted to hear. Dongmin didn’t hate him and he wasn’t angry.

Junhwe took a deep breath as put the hoodie down on his lap, stroking the fabric faintly. He then glanced up at Jinhwan, feeling his throat become even tighter as he saw the fondness in the older man’s dark eyes. He was smiling radiantly, his face warm and loving as he brought a hand to Junhwe’s back, patting him softly.

“ _Thank you so much for bringing me that.”_ Junhwe whispered, feeling a pleasant warmth spread out his body as he glanced back at the brand new hoodie.

“ _You should be thanking Dongmin.”_ Jinhwan whispered back, voice soothing.

These words meant a lot to Junhwe because it was a way of assuring him that he was eventually going to be able to see Dongmin again, that they would be able to go back to the way it was, and it was all that Junhwe wished.

  


He carefully folded the hoodie again, putting it back in the plastic bag before reaching for the small one on Jinhwan’s lap. The man’s hand that had been resting on Junhwe’s back suddenly stopped rubbing circles as Jinhwan tensed up. He looked expectant but also worried and Junhwe found it incredibly endearing.

When Junhwe had reached down the bag, he had not been expecting anything in particular but he had been very surprised to feel something cold and metallic against his fingers. He swiftly fished the present out, holding it in his palm as he stared down at his hand.

It was a very thin silver chain with small leaves-like carving on the links and a star pendant. Junhwe couldn’t tear his eyes away from the necklace, feeling his cheek heat up the longer he stared. He couldn’t really explain why, but he had always thought that buying jewels was a very personal thing to do and it made his heart flutter to receive this kind of gift from Jinhwan.

It looked very elegant and discreet, and Junhwe loved it.

“ _I’m sorry if it’s weird, I just thought you’d like it, because of the night sky, you know...”_ Jinhwan trailed off as he took his hand away to run it through his hair nervously.

Junhwe glanced at the star pendant once more, feeling his heart beat pick up at the memory of the gorgeous skyline and let a smile blossom on his lips.

“ _It looks great, thank you.”_ Junhwe said sincerely as he looked up to Jinhwan’s red face.

The elder didn’t hold his gaze and quickly averted his eyes, looking down at his feet with red ears and a small satisfied smile. Jinhwan looked so pleased and genuinely happy, sitting next to Junhwe in silence that the younger boy didn’t think twice before carefully placing the chain back in the bag and tugging on Jinhwan’s arm to bring him closer.

Junhwe had never really been a physical affection person and he was definitely not the kind to give hugs as thanks but he figured that it was always a good justification to feel the older man’s body against his own.

So, without even thinking his actions through, Junhwe turned his body towards Jinhwan’s and brought a hand to the man’s back, pushing their chests together. Junhwe shamelessly buried his face in Jinhwan’s shoulder, letting out a breath he didn’t even he was holding at the pleasant feeling.

Jinhwan had been a bit stiff for a few seconds but had eventually relaxed, raising a hand up to Junhwe hair before gently stroking it, making the younger shiver.

Junhwe couldn’t really tell how long they remained like this, in silence and bodies touching, heart beat fast and breathings deep. But at some point, he had let his eyes close and his body completely relax. He could have almost fell asleep right there, with Jinhwan’s honey smell invading his nostrils, but the elder suddenly spoke up, bringing Junhwe back to reality.

“ _Do you want to spend the night?”_

Junhwe head shot up before he stared down at the elder, his cheeks heating up from the close proximity of their faces. It took some time for Junhwe to finally process the elder’s words and when he finally had, he wasn’t really sure what to answer.

“ _I mean, it’s getting late and we’re both going to attend college tomorrow anyway, we could go together.”_ Jinhwan added quickly, his own cheeks reddening.

No matter how much Junhwe wanted to say yes, he really couldn’t. He needed to bring a few papers for his and Donghyuk’s project and those were back at his own house. He reluctantly shook his head, feeling his heart drop even more when he saw the disappointment in Jinhwan’s eyes.

“ _We’ll need to talk at some point.”_ Jinhwan then said before standing up.

And even if Junhwe felt a bit confused, he thought he knew what the elder meant by that. They had been close to being something, or at least he believed so and he still wanted for Jinhwan to be more than a nice Hyung.

Junhwe could tell the attraction was mutual, but it wasn’t just as simple. Even if the war wasn’t in the way any more, Junhwe knew how much of a childish adult he was. He had never really been in any serious relationship and he didn’t want to fuck that one up.

The fact that none of them  was entirely human was also something that worried Junhwe. Even if he had not had any problems with his newly discovered conditions as a Hybrid  so far , it didn’t mean that he wasn’t still looking for answers.

“ _Yeah, we’ll need to.”_ Junhwe finally agreed as he stood up as well, plastic bags in hand.

  


The two of them walked up to the front door in silence. As Junhwe stood in the door frame, ready to leave, he couldn’t help the slight ache he felt in his heart as he looked at Jinhwan.

The elder was standing just a step away from him, looking up to meet Junhwe’s eyes with a small smile that looked slightly sad. Junhwe wished he could kiss that pout off Jinhwan’s face, but he knew he would overstep his boundaries, no matter how much he was craving it.

It was with a small awkward wave and a faintly whispered  _“Goodnight”_ that Junhwe finally turned around and walked up to the stair case, feeling a strange sense of loss overcome him as he walked down the steps.

He wished the next could come already so that he could see Jinhwan faster.

  


  


  


  


3 rd April 2017

  


  


Junhwe sighed deeply as he glanced up at the white board, before looking down to his phone. It was 11am, he was in his last course of the day, History of Psychology and even if he decided to care more about his studies, his hate for that particular course was still just as present.

The only upside was that Donghyuk attended that class too and they would usually talk and find ways to make that one hour go by faster. Sadly, Donghyuk wasn’t there yet and the lesson was about to start.

Junhwe wasn’t going to survive if Donghyuk wasn’t there. He nervously stroked the star pendant hanging from the chain around his neck as he glanced around the room, seeing if there was anyone who he could sit with instead but he didn’t really know his classmates for that course.

Thankfully, only a second after the teacher had entered the room, Donghyuk arrived, casting a small apologetic smile to their teacher before jumping up the stairs two by two and flopping down next to Junhwe.

“ _I thought you were going to leave me to suffer through that alone.”_ Junhwe whispered as the teacher spoke up to talk about their last test.

“ _Of course not, buddy.”_ Donghyuk snorted as he bumped shoulder with Junhwe playfully.

  


It wasn’t an unusual thing for Donghyuk to be late or skip classes. He was very much alike Junhwe before the winter vacation, not caring much about his studies and in love with not being on time for the courses.

Junhwe cast a side glance to his friend, surprised to see that Donghyuk was staring back. He was looking in silence at Junhwe’s chest, his brows furrowed as if he was very confused.

“ _Is that a new hoodie? How many do you even have?”_ Donghyuk asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

Junhwe did have many hoodies, probably at least two of each colour of the rainbow but he only had one white hoodie and he hadn’t been able to wear it ever since Donghyuk had arrived for the stains didn’t want to disappear even with hundreds of washings.

But now he had a new favourite white hoodie to wear.

Just as Junhwe was about to answer Donghyuk’s question regarding the origin of that new piece of clothing, his friend’s eyes widened even more as he looked up to Junhwe’s neck.

“ _You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend!”_ He almost shouted, bringing a few curious stares to their table.

Junhwe looked around, embarrassed and very confused. He brought a hand up to his neck, feeling the smooth skin until his fingertips brushed against the cold metal of his new necklace. His eyes widened in understanding. After all, that necklace was indeed very pretty and even if Junhwe had tried to ignore it, it really looked like something a girlfriend would gift.

“ _I don’t have one! The necklace and the hoodie are from friends, for my birthday!”_ Junhwe half-whispered half-shouted back, feeling his face heat up.

  


Junhwe had thought Donghyuk would mock him, or simply shrug but unlike what he had been expecting, his friend’s mouth suddenly dropped and his eyes blinked a few times as if he had a hard time comprehending what he had just heard.

“ _You never told me it was your birthday.”_ Donghyuk whispered, his voice so soft that Junhwe almost didn’t hear him.

His friend was looking at him with furrowed eyebrows and a pout so overdone that he looked more ridicule than pitiful. Junhwe knew, from the playful glow in Donghyuk’s eyes, that he wasn’t really mad, but he was right. Junhwe had purposely never told him, even if Donghyuk had told him when his was. It was in January and Junhwe was going to make sure to buy him something real good to make it up for him.

“ _When was it?”_ Donghyuk asked, the smile back on his face.

“ _31st March.”_ Junhwe answered as he picked up his pen, taking a few notes of what was written on the board.

Donghyuk remained silent for a few seconds, humming in thoughts. He wasn’t listening to what the teacher was saying at all and Junhwe knew that he wasn’t going to take notes either. What Junhwe hated the most about Donghyuk was how smart his friend was. He never wrote any of what was being said during the lessons but he always managed to get top grades.

Junhwe never really understood why, but he was sure that Donghyuk was some sort of genius. Or maybe it was him that was too dumb.

  


“ _It’s only the 3 rd of April, I can still give you something.” _Donghyuk said as he stretched out his arms above his head.

Junhwe whipped his head around to stare at his friend. He knew about Doghyuk’s situation. His parents were still back in Jeju and he was living on his own in Seoul with no financial support whatsoever. Junhwe was aware of how much Donghyuk was struggling with money, having to work part time to make the ends meet.

“ _You’re not buying me anything.”_ Junhwe stated as he stared at Donghyuk.

He friend gave him a big crooked grin before shaking his head and humming some weird song.

“ _I want to give you something for your birthday, you’re my only friend here.”_ Donghyuk shot back as he slouched on his desk, glancing at Junhwe from the corner of his eyes.

Junhwe sighed as he racked his brain for something not too expensive that he could eventually asked of his friend, but he couldn’t really find anything. There was nothing that he really wanted, besides ice cream since he always wanted ice cream.

That was when Junhwe got the best idea he ever had.

“ _How about you invite me to eat at that fancy ice cream place down the street? I’ve always wanted to try their strawberry flavoured one.”_ Junhwe offered.

Donghyuk didn’t really seem to like the idea, probably because that shop wasn’t even that expensive to begin with and also because he most likely thought that an ice cream wasn’t the best birthday present ever but that was what Junhwe wanted. He had walked past that new shop at least a hundred of times in the past weeks and he never really had the time to sit down and eat one. Plus, he’d rather go there with a friend.

After a few more minutes of thinking, Donghyuk finally agreed with a small pout to which Junhwe answered with his brightest smile. He felt like a child on Christmas.

  


When the bell finally rung after what had seemed like hours of endless expectant waiting, Junhwe quickly packed all of his school stuff in his bag excitedly, and left the room with a hurried Donghyuk in his tracks.

They both decided, once they had managed to get to the main yard after going through the thousands of bodies rushing to get out, that they should first head to somewhere to eat lunch and then go grab the ice cream once they would be finished with the main dish.

They had no courses on Monday afternoons and they had the rest of the day to hang out. Junhwe fished out his phone to check if he had received any messages from Jinhwan but sadly, he had none. He really did like spending time with Donghyuk but he would have loved to be able to see Jinhwan at least once.

He had no idea if the elder even had classes on Monday morning, he couldn’t really remember and it made Junhwe note in a corner of his mind to ask for Jinhwan’s schedules.

  


  


Just as they were about to leave the school grounds, Junhwe heard his name being called in the distance and swiftly turned around as he recognized the sweet and gentle voice of the elder,  making his heart beat faster .  He couldn’t believe that he was going to be able to talk with Jinhwan so soon.

Jinhwan was walking towards the two of them, staring at Junhwe with a big grin, but as he came closer, his smile slowly started to fall. He then glanced at Donghyuk and the last hint of curved up lips completely disappeared.

Jinhwan stopped a meter away from them, his gaze stuck on Donghyuk, his brows furrowed in confusion and his nose scrunched up.

Junhwe reckoned that Jinhwan had most likely recognized the smell that had been on Junhwe when they had went to the restaurant yesterday and it made Junhwe flush to know that Jinhwan seemed to dislike Donghyuk’s smell that much, probably because of the mere fact that he was close to Junhwe. Jinhwan being jealous meant that Jinhwan cared and the thought made Junhwe’s beat faster.

  


That warm feeling however began to slip away as Junhwe realised that Jinhwan wasn’t even blinking, too focused on Donghyuk. He was looking at him up and down, his eyes void of any anger. He looked curious and a bit thrown off but nowhere close to jealous.

Junhwe glanced sideways at his friend, feeling his heart beat painfully when he noticed the way Donghyuk was staring back, looking just as surprised and confused, but also very much interested.

  


The tension in the air was  so obvious it was almost palpable. The two men remained silent as the seconds stretched out to become minutes of very uncomfortable staring. Junhwe had no idea of what was happening but all he knew was that he really didn’t like what was happening.

Finally, Jinhwan spoke up, his voice cautious and low.

“ _What are you?”_

Junhwe’s attention shifted from Jinhwan to Donghyuk, watching the way his fiend’s eyes widened as he glanced at Junhwe warily, his lips tightly shut.

“ _Don’t worry, Junhwe knows about Lycoi. Tell me what you are.”_ Jinhwan ordered, his voice serious but not aggressive.

Junhwe felt his heart stop for a second as he stared at Donghyuk. He had never felt that dumbfounded before. Donghyuk was probably just as confused as Junhwe felt since he quickly turned towards Junhwe, staring at him with eyes wide fro the surprise.

“ _You know? But you’ve never reacted to any of my signs or commented on my smell!”_ Donghyuk said, his voice accusing and eyes filled with puzzlement.

Junhwe looked between Jinhwan and Donghyuk in silence, unable to say anything. He had indeed noticed the way Donghyuk would often bring wolves up or how he had often asked for Junhwe to let him come to that forest but he had never thought much of it.

It did make more sense now that he knew Donghyuk to be a Lycos. What surprised Junhwe was rather why Donghyuk hadn’t asked him anything regarding his weird smell. If there was anything he had learned from being with Lycoi, it was that he had a very peculiar scent that had made every Lycos so far very confused.

But even when Junhwe thought back on their very first meeting, Donghyuk hadn’t seem surprised of confused, he had just smiled brightly and had started talking to Junhwe like a normal person.

Maybe Donghyuk’s nose was just as bad as Dongmin’s and he hadn’t been able to smell the Lycos part of Junhwe’s scent.

“ _Well, I can’t really smell anything so I couldn’t have known that you were a Lycos.”_ Junhwe then said.

Donghyuk’s eyes widened even more as he glanced at Jinhwan, his eyes filled with unspoken questions. Junhwe found his own eyes meeting Jinhwan’s but the elder looked just as puzzled at the two of them.

“ _How can you not smell anything?”_ Donghyuk asked slowly, his head tilted inquiringly. 

Junhwe thought of the best way to answer this question. He would have simply said that it was because he was human and couldn’t smell the way Lycoi did, but it would have been a lie, because Junhwe wasn’t entirely human. He had never had to say it aloud and it made him feel weird to suddenly imagine his lips forming around the word. It felt like he was about to admit a secret and he didn’t like the way his heart was beating painfully in his chest.

He glanced warily at Jinhwan, as if asking for permission. Donghyuk obviously knew of the Lycos world and it probably wouldn’t be a problem for Junhwe to say that he was a Hybrid to his friend but he was still very unsure.

He had signed many papers for the Lycoi Justice, mainly so that they would rest assured that Junhwe would never speak of the Lycos world to anybody, but that didn’t include Lycoi.

And so, Junhwe took a long, deep breath as he slowly opened his mouth, his stomach churning uncomfortably.

“ _I’m a Hybrid, I can’t smell.”_ He stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

But Donghyuk seemed to disagree. His eyes opened so wide Junhwe was scared they would fall out. He looked completely thrown off and shocked and it almost hurt Junhwe’s feelings.

He hadn’t really known how other Lycoi would see the fact of him being a Hybrid but he had hoped that he wouldn’t be hated for something he hadn’t chosen to be.

  


Donghyuk walked up to Junhwe, standing right in front of him as he stared into his eyes seriously. Junhwe had never seen his friend look so grave before. 

“ _Junhwe, I’m a Hybrid and I surely smelt that you were too.”_ Donghyuk said very slowly, his voice clear and sincere as he brought a hand to Junhwe’s shoulder.

Junhwe blinked a few times as he tried to proceed the new information. He averted his gaze, looking down at his feet as the sentence echoed in his brain. He wasn’t really sure what had confused him more between the fact that he wasn’t the only Hybrid, or the fact that Donghyuk had been able to smell him.

  


  


  


(6087 words)


	3. Harmony

  


  


3rd April 2017

  


  


Junhwe was mindlessly playing with the hem of his white hoodie, keeping his gaze cast downwards as he felt the awkwardness of the air. The three of them were sitting in the main yard under a tree, basking in the sun rays that managed to get through the hurdles of leaves. No one was speaking and remained utterly silent as minutes ticked by, choosing instead to stare at one another nervously.

As always, it ended up being Jinhwan who spoke up first, being the oldest and definitely the most mature out of the three of them.

“ _So you’re a Hybrid too.”_ Jinhwan stated, trying to break the ice.

Donghyuk nodded. _“Lyco_ _s_ _mother_ _and_ _human_ _father.”_

Jinhwan hummed in thoughts. The elder then glanced at Junhwe with a small smile and back at Donghyuk.

“ _No need to be so tense, boys.”_ He said with a small laugh.

Junhwe felt his own lips stretch out in a smile. After all, it wasn’t that big of a deal if Donghyuk was a Hybrid too, Junhwe should even be happy. He could be completely at ease with him now that Junhwe knew he was aware of the Lycos world too.

Donghyuk let out a small mellow laugh as well before he stretched his arms above his head and slowly lying down on the grass, looking up dreamily at the blue sky.

“ _I’m just a bit confused.”_ He then said. _“You’re the first Hybrid I’ve ever met,_ _Junhwe,_ _and I wasn’t even sure you really were one since you weren’t saying anything.”_

Junhwe hummed in thoughts as he remembered all of their interactions. He would have never guessed that Donghyuk wasn’t human either. He wouldn’t have guessed that Donghyuk was just like himself.

“ _What confuses me is your nose.”_ Jinhwan stated as he glanced up at the sky as well.

Junhwe looked up to Donghyuk’s face, seeing the way his friend seemed to tense up, before bringing his eyes downwards to meet Jinhwan’s, a small smile playing on his lips.

“ _Ever heard of Achroma before?”_ Donghyuk said, his voice enigmatic.

Jinhwan seemed to tense up as well but nodded stiffly nonetheless. Junhwe was thankful for his training sessions with Taehyung since he remembered pretty well their talk on Achroma. Many Lycoi regarded the Colorless as wolves with no morals that had given up on their own kind.

“ _I grew up with them, my mother is part of it.”_ Donghyuk explained, his face closed and shoulders tensed.

“ _Did they somehow teach you how to use your nose like a Lycos?_ ” Jinhwan asked, genuine curiosity obvious in his voice.

Donghyuk seemed to relax a bit more from the lack of animosity in Jinhwan’s attitude. Junhwe could understand his friend’s reluctance. From what he had heard, Achroma was definitely not something regular Lycoi liked or enjoyed conversing about. But Junhwe knew that Jinhwan wasn’t the type of person to mind such details.

“ _They simply saw me as another Pup so I just attended the regular training lessons.”_ Donghyuk explained, cheeks reddening from the awestruck stare Jinhwan was giving him.

Junhwe wouldn’t admit it, but he wished Jinhwan would look at him that way instead. Junhwe knew he was being childish.

“ _That’s amazing.”_ Jinhwan whispered, eyes shining. _“Junhwe is so human-like, I had no idea other Hybrids could be so similar to regular Lycoi.”_

Junhwe tried really hard not to take it the wrong way, but with how Jinhwan was staring at Donghyuk as if he was some Greek God made him feel even more aware of his lack of ability. Jinhwan was right, he and Donghyuk were exactly the same, but his friend was no disgrace to the Lycos kind. Just like Jinhwan, he could smell the different emotions, feel attraction based on smell, recognize people from mere scents… Junhwe’s last hope was that Donghyuk was too far to be able to smell Jinhwan’s sweet honey scent, he wanted to keep that for himself only.

  


“ _I’m not really that great.”_ Donghyuk said sheepishly, before continuing. _“I’m sure Junhwe can do that too if taught how.”_

Junhwe’s head shot right back to his friend’s face, meeting Donghyuk’s warm eyes in silence. From what he had gathered with Taehyung, he had no amazing physical ability, was always tired and clumsy, was as silent as a sneezing elephant and had no hope whatsoever of ever being a good Lycos. Junhwe really doubted that, even with good training, that he would ever succeed in being remotely close to being able to differentiate smells.

Maybe he could just say that, like Dongmin, he had been born with a bad nose.

“ _I don’t think that would be a good idea.”_ Junhwe said slowly, watching warily as Jinhwan’s eyebrows rose in surprise and Donghyuk’s face fell.

“ _I think it would be a very good idea, though.”_ Jinhwan stated, glancing between Donghyuk and Junhwe with a small smile. _“You’d be safer that way.”_

Junhwe looked from Donghyuk’s doubtful face to Jinhwan’s happy one, locking eyes with the elder in silence. He could see the genuine concern in the man’s dark eyes and Junhwe knew that it probably would be for the best, and yet he couldn’t help but feel like it would be a waste of time.

“ _I can surely try to teach you, buddy.”_ Donghyuk then said, offering Junhwe a bright smile.

Junhwe looked between Jinhwan’s hopeful eyes and his friend’s delighted grin and found himself unable to decline the proposal. It was with a long sigh that Junhwe finally nodded, signing for what he didn’t know yet to be long hours of endless training on the few days where he had no courses.

  


  


  


  


“ _So basically, it’s all about focus.”_ Donghyuk assured as he stuffed his mouth with another spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

Junhwe nodded silently as he swallowed down his own strawberry flavoured sweet.

Jinhwan had needed to attend a class and had left them a few minutes ago, letting the two of them free to hang out to that marvellous ice cream place. Junhwe reckoned what he was currently eating had been brought from Heaven itself. It tasted too perfect to be real.

Unfortunately, Junhwe couldn’t really give all his attention to his heavenly tasting as Donghyuk was already trying to teach a few things to Junhwe.

So far, all he had understood was that there was nothing new to learn for he already had all the capacities within him, he just needed to know how to trigger them. But Junhwe had no idea how to. No matter how deep the breaths he was taking were, the only thing he could smell was his strawberry ice cream.

“ _There are too many smells here so it’s not gonna work but let’s at least get the theoretical part done.”_ Donghyuk stated before resuming his explanation in a quieter voice.

  


Junhwe really understood all of what Donghyuk was telling him, because it made sense. He had never really needed to focus on smells, since it’s not something human do, and his nose has gone “ _dormant”,_ as Donghyuk had hilariously said _._ Junhwe was really trying to focus, blocking all sounds and thoughts as he put all his attention on breathing in slowly and very deeply. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t smell anything.

Donghyuk had reassured him, it was only because of the huge number of smells in the room and even if Junhwe wanted to believe him, he couldn’t help but think that the only reason why he couldn’t smell anything was that he was just untalented.

Determined to prove him wrong, Donghyuk had forced Junhwe to follow him back to the school campus into one of the classrooms so that they could train.

Junhwe was definitely not happy to be standing in one of the old crappy classrooms in the second building that no one was using any more. Donghyuk had been adamant, surprisingly, saying that it would be for the best for the smell would be pretty neutral.

All Junhwe could currently smell was the distinct smell of dust and old humid wallpaper and it almost gave him a headache. The only upside was that they were in the same building as Jinhwan and with a bit of luck they would be able to run into him on their way out.

For now, however, Junhwe had to focus.

  


“ _Close your eyes.”_ Donghyuk ordered gently.

Junhwe obeyed in silence, slowing closing his eyelids. He was standing in the middle of the room and he was feeling very awkward. The fact that Junhwe was suddenly reminded of the hide and seek game he and Jinhwan had played a few months ago was definitely not helping him focus on anything and Junhwe was simply hoping that his change of emotion wasn’t showing in his smell too much.

“ _Now, really try to stop thinking, I know it’s hard, but you need to let your senses take over your brain.”_ Donghyuk’s voice said, echoing stronger around the room.

Junhwe couldn’t really tell if his friend had been speaking louder, or if the focusing Juhwe was really trying to achieve was working. To stop thinking wasn’t something really hard for Junhwe, because he usually didn’t think much, but remaining standing, in the middle of a smelly old room with a friend staring at you while asking you to focus on utter nothingness was very different from dozing off during a class.

Each time Junhwe felt like he had not been thinking, there would always be something to distract him. A sudden melody coming from a music room on the other side of the corridor, the horrid smell of the mouldy books, or a breath too deep from Donghyuk.

“ _So?”_ His friend asked, voice expectant.

“ _I feel like a moron”_ Junhwe answered dully, eyes still closed.

Junhwe’s heard Donghyuk’s laugh echoing throughout before hearing the vague thump of footsteps coming closer to him.

“ _Let’s try another way.”_ Junhwe heard Donghyuk whisper, his voice so unbelievably loud that his friend was probably standing right in front of him.

Junhwe then heard a few more footsteps before feeling Donghyuk’s hand on his shoulder. His friend was so close that Junhwe’s eyelids seemed darker from the proximity of Donghyuk’s silhouette and he could have sworn that he could feel the warmth radiating from his friend.

“ _Breathe in deeply.”_ Donghyuk ordered, his warm breath hitting Junhwe’ collarbones.

And Junhwe did breathe in deeply, smelling this time what probably was Donghyuk’s cologne.

“ _What do you smell?”_ Donghyuk asked as he stepped back.

“ _Your perfume?”_ Junhwe answered as much as he asked, feeling pretty confused.

Donghyuk laughed and it didn’t help Junhwe feel any better about his stupidity.

“ _I don’t wear perfume.”_

At that, Junhwe couldn’t help but open his eyes to find Donghyuk standing a small meter away from him, looking straight at him with a big grin and warm eyes.

“ _What you smelt was my natural scent, and humans can’t smell that.”_ Donghyuk said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, eyes shining with pride. _“You’ve always been able to smell, idiot.”_

  


Junhwe stared ahead wordlessly as he tried to put the pieces together. He had never really noticed that he had a sense of smell stronger than humans’. How could he have, really? It then only took him a second to realize that Jinhwan wasn’t wearing some weird honey scented perfume, and that Junhwe had merely always been able to smell his natural scent ever since he had met him.

For some reason, it made Junhwe really proud. He knew that as an Omega, Jinhwan had a very discreet smell but he had always been able to tell it apart from the others. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as he had thought he was.

Now that he was standing in front of Donghyuk, it felt as if the only thing Junhwe could smell was his friend’s musky scent. There was no terrible dust smell or stinky old books invading his nostrils, only Donghyuk’s scent.

  


“ _Close your eyes, I’m gonna hide and you’ll find me based on the smell.”_ Donghyuk said as he rushed up to Junhwe sides, hiding his eyes with his hands.

“ _I can’t do that dude! It won’t work!”_ Junhwe protested as he tried to wriggle out of his friend’s hold.

But Donghyuk wasn’t moving at all, his hands still firmly clasped over Junhwe’s eyes.

“ _Close ‘em and try.”_ He whispered.

Junhwe huffed and sighed, letting out a bit of sass for good measure before closing his eyes reluctantly. Donghyuk then stepped away silently, the warmth of his palms slowly fading away.

Junhwe waited for a few seconds and surprisingly, it was as if Donghyuk’s smell was slowly disappearing to be replaced with the room’s terrible stench. He took a few cautious steps ahead, blindly reaching out with his hands to avoid any tables or chairs.

He couldn’t smell anything and the small joy that he had been overcome with only a second ago had completely disappeared. He shouldn’t have felt so proud for so little.

“ _I can’t smell anything.”_ Junhwe whined, listening carefully for any giggle but Donghyuk was being utterly silent.

Junhwe almost feared that his friend had left the room but he then remembered how loud the door was creaking when opened and decided that Donghyuk was most likely trying to hold his laugh in. Junhwe reckoned he looked really dumb, walking around with his arms extended and eyes closed, nose scrunched up and breathing deeply.

Junhwe then took a few steps towards his left, immediately stopping in his tracks when his nose picked up the very discreet scent of something earthy and musky. It was what Junhwe now recognized to be Donghyuk’s smell and he was so stunned to be able to smell it that he stopped moving altogether, focusing all of his thoughts towards the smell.

He took another few steps, feeling a smile blossom on his lips when the scent became stronger. He knew he was approaching one of the corners of the room and so he extended his arms in front of him blindly, trying to reach out for anything to stabilize himself.

  


A shocked squeak left Junhwe’s lips when his hand hit something plump and warm, quickly followed by a few giggles.

“ _See, you did it!”_ Donghyuk then said as Junhwe opened his eyes.

Donghyuk was standing in the corner, a huge grin gracing his features as he stared at Junhwe with his warm eyes, a few strands of chocolate hair falling in front of them. Junhwe slowly withdrew his hand that had been brushing against Donghyuk’s cheek awkwardly before glancing away and stepping back.

“ _Must have been luck, I don’t feel like I’ve done anything, really.”_ Junhwe whispered sheepishly, feeling his cheek redden from the proud grin Donghyuk was giving him.

“ _You did great, Junhwe.”_ Donghyuk said as he patted Junhwe on the shoulder with a smile. _“It doesn’t feel like you did anything because you just did what your Lycos blood had been asking for you to do for years.”_

Junhwe nodded, gaze stuck on the floor and mouth pulled up in a small smile. He felt weird. He really didn’t feel like he had done something. It seemed silly to him that Donghyuk would look so proud when all Junhwe had done was breathe in deeply.

But somehow, the awstruck gaze Donghyuk was giving him also made Junhwe proud of himself.

  


  


  


  


8th April 2017

  


  


Junhwe and Donghyuk had both decided to come everyday to that room until Junhwe would be able to pick up Donghyuk’s smell without even focusing any more and when that would be done, they would go out to more crowded areas and work on Junhwe’s ability to differentiate scents.

Junhwe believed that it would take years since he was pretty sure that he was really slow and was completely hopeless. He couldn’t tell why Donghyuk’s smell gave away that he was a Hybrid. It didn’t seem any different from Jinhwan’s, beside the fact that the older man’s was a lot sweeter.

Jinhwan had insisted for Junhwe to keep trying so that he could tell apart Lycoi from humans and be safer but Junhwe couldn’t even smell his own scent. He was a lost case, but each time the training got harder and he would want to give up, he would remember the way Jinhwan’s face had lit with happiness when Donghyuk had told him that Junhwe was making progress.

  


It had been a few days since Junhwe had been training with Donghyuk and even if the first few times had been terrible and had gotten his happiness back down in hell, things were starting to get better.

Junhwe needed to focus less each time they played hide and seek and he was starting to find Donghyuk a lot quicker. When he arrived to school, it would only take him one deep breath when entering his classroom to know who was present and even if some smells were kind of mixing up and making Junhwe confused, he was becoming more at ease with telling people apart.

The best upside of this training was that Junhwe could instantly tell, when entering the second building, whether Jinhwan was there or not. It seemed as if, even if it was by far the most discreet scent Junhwe had ever smelled, that Jinhwan’s smell took longer to disappear and was easier to follow then anybody else’s. 

  


  


Junhwe fished his phone out of his pocket to check the time, sighing when he realised that it was already 5pm. It was Saturday and it was the first day off Junhwe had managed to get from Donghyuk. They had decided not to train that day, but in exchange, Junhwe would need to work on their project on his own.

Junhwe had figured that he would spend his whole day out, having fun and eating ice cream, and then get back home early to work for a while. It was already 5, and he was nowhere close to heading back home.

Junhwe stopped with a sigh at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn green as he glanced around him. The streets weren’t as busy as they usually were at that time of the day on Saturdays but there were still enough people for his nose to be confused. Now that he had learnt how to use it, it felt as if Junhwe couldn’t turn it off any more and busy streets were things he was starting to hate.

There were so many smells at one time that it almost hurt his head.

Junhwe was about to start crossing the road, the light now green, but stopped in his tracks when he smelt something way stronger than everything else. It was vaguely familiar but he couldn’t tell whether he had actually ever met the person before or if it just reminded him of something.

The smell was strong and musky, but also very perfumed and it smelt so very different from everything else on the street that Junhwe immediately understood it to be a Lycos’s scent.

  


Junhwe stepped away from the cross walk and closed his eyes, trying to focus as much as he could with all the noise and smells around him. The person wasn’t far, probably just a few meters away.

Junhwe swiftly opened his eyes and looked around, trying to find any familiar faces. He could feel it inside him, the smell was too nostalgic for him not to know the person it belonged to.

Then, suddenly, in the mass of foreign faces, Junhwe saw a man taller than the mob, with dark locks, black eyes and features so familiar that Junhwe felt his heart stop for a second.

  


Dongmin didn’t really look any different than he did four months ago. His hair was slightly longer but still as messy, and Junhwe could have sworn that his best friend had gotten even taller, but he still looked the same to Junhwe’s eyes.

Junhwe knew that Dongmin had not noticed him yet. He was looking straight ahead, walking down the street completely oblivious to Junhwe’s presence only a few meters away. 

Junhwe knew that Dongmin had quite a bad nose based on Lycoi standards but he had never thought there would be a day where he would smell Dongmin before Dongmin smelt him.

He felt proud, somehow, and he hoped that Dongmin would be too. But that meant actually going up to him and talking to him.

But Junhwe found himself stuck in place, unable to move. He wasn’t sure whether Dongmin would even want to talk to him and he was scared of being rejected by the only best friend he had ever had.

  


But how could they be best friend if they never talked again? So, Junhwe took a long deep breath before walking up to where Dongmin was, waiting at the same crosswalk Junhwe had been about to cross when he had suddenly smelt his best friend.

He made his way through the mass of people swiftly until he stood right behind Dongmin, his best friend standing only a small meter away. Junhwe couldn’t believe that Dongmin seemed to have at least five good centimetres on him. They used to be almost the same height only four months ago.

Junhwe was still debating how he should attract Dongmin’s attention when his best friend’s shoulders suddenly tensed. His head shot up from the ground he had been staring at and he looked around, before swiftly turning around, looking quite alarmed.

The light had turned green and the mob had moved, people rushing to the other side of the pavement, leaving only Junhwe and Dongmin to stare at one another in complete silence.

Junhwe could hear the dull buzzing of people in the streets, he could still smell the mix of scents that hurt his head but all of that was overpowered by Dongmin’s smell and the way his best friend was staring at him.

His eyes were wide with surprise but unlike what Junhwe had been scared of, there was no hate hidden in the dark orbs, only genuine confusion as Dongmin looked at him up and down.

“ _Hi.”_ Junhwe whispered, trying to make things less tense.

For a second, it seemed as if Dongmin had become mute. He opened his mouth and tried to speak but no sound came out, his mouth opening and closing like a fish’s.

Then, without any warning, Dongmin closed the meter separating them, took a hold of Junhwe’s wrist and dragged him across the street into a smaller and more secluded alley-way.

  


Once they both stood in the middle of the dark and silent small street, empty of any passer-by, Junhwe found himself almost regretting not running away the second he had smelt Dongmin.

There were many things he wanted to tell Dongmin but the way his best friend was staring at him was making him to uneasy that his mouth felt like it had been stuck shut with glue.

“ _So, how have you been?”_ Junhwe asked slowly, watching Dongmin intently for any shift in his features.

“ _Don’t you ‘how have you been’ me.”_ Dongmin whispered, his shoulders tensed and face expressionless.

Junhwe couldn’t really tell if Dongmin was angry or not, but it did seem like he wasn’t delighted at all. His brows were furrowed and his eyes cold as he stared at Junhwe in complete silence.

“ _I’m sorry, Dongmin, I really am.”_ Junhwe then said, breaking eye contact to stare at the ground.

Junhwe had expected Dongmin to be mad at him for leaving him alone. They had always been together through hardships and Dongmin had surely thought that he would have his best friend by his sides to support him through the war, but Junhwe had left him on his own.

Junhwe did not regret his choice, and he would do it again even if he could change the past. He believed that it had been for the best, even if it had hurt his best friend. Junhwe had been scared, and he had wanted protection. He did not feel proud of his actions but he did feel sorry for Dongmin.

“ _I’m not blaming you, hell, I’m not even mad at you.”_ Dongmin then said, letting out a bitter laugh as he ran a hand through his black messy hair. _“_ _It just feels weird talking to you like this. I didn’t expect to be seeing you so soon.”_

“ _Well, I wasn’t expecting it either, I just suddenly smelt you.”_ Junhwe explained nonchalantly before suddenly realising what he had just said.

“ _You did what?”_ Dongmin asked, his eyes wide open and mouth falling.

His best friend seemed genuinely surprised and amazed and it brought a small blush to Junhwe’s cheeks.

“ _Well, I kinda have a Hybrid friend, and long story short, he taught me how to properly use my nose.”_ Junhwe explained, feeling awkward under Dongmin’s boring stare. _“I’m not that good, though...”_ he then trailed off when Dongmin remained silent.

“ _Not good?_ _You_ _smelt me before I smelt you, and I’m a Lycos Junhwe!”_ Dongmin almost shouted, his lips stretching out in a small smile.

Junhwe couldn’t find anything else to say and chose instead to look down at his worn-out sneakers, still feeling Dongmin’s stare on his face.

  


Catching up with a best friend he had expected to loathe him wasn’t as bad as Junhwe had feared it to be. Dongmin had been in a rush and they only had a few minutes to talk in that small alley-way, but at least now Junhwe felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Dongmin wasn’t nearly as angry as Junhwe thought he would be and even after all that, they were still best friends. 

From what Junhwe had understood during his talk with Dongmin, his best friend’s life had been very much busy the past months. As an Alpha, he had been on the front lines a lot and even if he had been thankfully unharmed, he had hinted darkly to the things he had seen on the battlefield and Junhwe was very sure that he did not need any details on that.

Now that the war was over, the Cloud Pack and the Swamp Pack had parted. Mino was struggling to keep his pack together, the lack of a Main Omega making it very hard for him to be at everyone’s disposal for help.

Dongmin confessed that he himself was so busy that he didn’t get much time to himself and that, before running into Junhwe, had in fact been on his way to meet up with Jimin and talk about the things they should do for the pack.

Junhwe had noticed the way his best friend’s cheeks had reddened when mentioning the other man’s name, but he didn’t say anything about it. 

  


Soon enough, way too soon to Junhwe’s taste, Dongmin had needed to leave, not wanting to make Jimin wait too long. He had left Junhwe to stand on his own in the dark alley-way, with nothing to do but head back home.

But Junhwe really didn’t want to because being home meant having to work on the project. After all, he still had Sunday to work on it, he could allow himself to procrastinate a bit more.

And if Junhwe was not going home, the only place he could go to was Jinhwan’s. He wanted to call, or send a text, but he had figured that coming uninvited without any warning could also be fun.

  


  


Junhwe had had no particular reason to come to see Jinhwan and as he stood in front of the man’s apartment door – he had been allowed in the hall by an old lady who lived on the fourth floor – Junhwe tried really hard to come up with an excuse.

It wasn’t like he needed one for he was pretty sure that Jinhwan would love to see him, but he still felt like telling the elder he needed him for something would come off better than saying that he just had nothing to do.

Junhwe could have told him that he had simply wanted to see his face, but the mere thought of the words leaving his mouth made him sweat with embarrassment and he didn’t want to make a fool out of himself, especially if it was in front of Jinhwan.

  


Junhwe took one last deep breath before ringing the door bell, waiting with baited breath. Only a few seconds later, the door opened to reveal Jinhwan, standing in the door frame. The elder man looked very confused when his dark eyes fell on Junhwe unmoving figure, his eyes brows shooting up and his mouth falling open.

His orange hair was very messy, a few locks standing upright on his head and Junhwe had to bite down on his lips to prevent a laugh from spilling out. Jinhwan was wearing a plain white shirt and shorts, looking more casual than Junhwe had ever seen him and the sight made his heart flutter.

“ _Hi?”_ Jinhwan said inquiringly, a smile on his lips.

“ _Hi.”_ Junhwe answered with a small chuckle, feeling immensely awkward.

Jinhwan swiftly moved out of the entrance, gesturing for Junhwe to enter with a wide grin. Junhwe thanked him quickly before rushing inside and dropping himself down on the worn-out sofa.

“ _So, what brought you here?”_ Jinhwan asked as he disappeared into the kitchen to come out only a few seconds later, a fuming mug in hand.

Junhwe bit down on his lips, trying quickly to come up with something as Jinhwan sat down next to him, the coffee smell invading his nostrils. But Junhwe couldn’t find anything, he had thought of a few things on his way but now that Jinhwan was sitting right next to him, his bare thigh brushing against Junhwe’s jeans and his honey smell strong around the room, it seemed as if Junhwe had forgotten all of his plan.

Junhwe glanced up to meet the elder’s gaze, finding Jinhwan staring back, his head tilted questioningly and his wide eyes clouded with puzzlement.

“ _I, uh, I didn’t really have anything to do...”_ Junhwe stuttered, feeling his stomach dropped when he noticed the way Jinhwan’s eyes seem to lose their light. 

There was a few seconds of heavy silence during which Junhwe cursed himself for his unthoughtful self before he gathered all his courage and spoke up, his voice small and unsure.

“ _And I wanted to see you.”_

The silence came back, even more oppressing. Junhwe slowly rose his gaze once more, locking eyes with the elder. Jinhwan was looking back at him, his dark eyes unwavering and lit with a genuine happiness that Junhwe loved to see gracing the older man’s features. Jinhwan was smiling brightly as sipped down on his coffee, glancing away but the grin never disappearing.

“ _I was actually thinking of you.”_ Jinhwan then said, a shy blush on his cheek as he put his mug down on the table in front of the couch.

Junhwe rose a brow as he looked back to the elder, his heart beat slowly increasing.

“ _I was wondering how you were doing with the trainings.”_ Jinhwan asked as he sank back into the couch, their arms brushing.

Junhwe, while thinking of the training sessions with Donghyuk, was suddenly reminded of his meeting with Dongmin, all of that thanks to his nose.

“ _I smelt Dongmin on the street today.”_ Junhwe said, watching Jinhwan attentively, expecting a praise.

“ _You smelt him? That’s amazing, did you get to talk?”_ Jinhwan inquired, his smile wide and eyes bright.

Junhwe nodded sheepishly, feeling his cheeks warm up from the proud gaze Jinhwan was giving him. 

The two of them then kept on talking animatedly about Junhwe’s meeting with Dongmin, Jinhwan inquiring excitedly on the boy’s whereabouts. It warmed Junhwe’s heart up to know that Jinhwan really cared about Dongmin. After all, they had grown up together.

  


When Junhwe looked at his phone quite some time later, he realised – not without his stomach dropping – that it was already 7pm and that Junhwe really needed to start heading back home. But he had absolutely no desire to.

He slowly rose up from the couch, joining Jinhwan in the kitchen. The older man had left only a few  seconds ago to leave his mug in the sink. Junhwe lazily entered the room to find Jinhwan coming back to him, his head tilted on the side questioningly.

“ _I guess I’m going to leave.”_ Junhwe said slowly, a small pout on his lips.

“ _You could stay for dinner.”_ Jinhwan offered  with a friendly smile.

Junhwe considered it for a few seconds. After all, there was no one waiting for him at home and he really wanted to stay longer.

“ _You could even spend the night.”_ Jinhwan added as he glanced away, a light blush on his cheeks as he cleared his throat.

Junhwe remembered that Jinhwan had made the exact same offer only a few days ago and he recalled perfectly the disappointed face Jinhwan had pulled when Junhwe had said no.

“ _Yeah, I’ll stay.”_ Junhwe finally said with a small smile that immediately widened when he saw the elated look on Jinhwan’s face.

Jinhwan then rushed back to the kitchen, a small skip in his steps as he opened the fridge to take a look at what he had to offer.

They quickly both chose to order from a neighbouring Chinese place considering that the older man’s fridge was too empty to satisfy both their stomachs. The wait wouldn’t be long and Jinhwan offered for Junhwe to take a look inside Dongmin’s old room and make himself at home in the meantime.

  


When Junhwe pushed open the door to his best friend’s former bedroom, the first thing he noticed was the absence of mess. Dongmin was definitely not a clean freak and Junhwe had never once in his life seen his best friend’s room being neat.

It was a first for Junhwe, but it was also most likely linked to the fact that the room was pretty much empty. The desk was completely void of any belonging and the only other pieces of furniture were a bed and a wardrobe. Junhwe opened the latter, looking for any clothes he could wear over night but everything from the shelves to the drawers were empty.

Junhwe walked out of the room and joined Jinhwan in the living room. The man was sitting at the table, a few sheets spread out in front of him as he scribbled down something that looked like to be music notes to Junhwe’s musically uneducated brain. 

He silently sat down next to Jinhwan, observing what the older man was doing. The sheets indeed looked to be music partitions on which were handwritten a few black dots at different heights.

“ _Assignment for my composition class.”_ Jinhwan said as an answer to Junhwe’s silent question.

Junhwe hummed in acknowledgement before raising his gaze from the sheet to Jinhwan’s face. The man’s eyes brows were furrowed from his intense focus and his mouth slightly parted from which occasionally poked out a pink tongue when Jinhwan wetted his lips mindlessly. A few strands of orange hair were falling in front of his eyes and Junhwe had to fight back to keep himself from brushing them away.

“ _You got everything you need?”_ Jinhwan then asked as he put his pen back down to look at Junhwe.

“ _Well, there’s a bed so I’ll be fine.”_ Junhwe said with a smile.

Jinhwan laughed lightly before speaking up once more. _“I’ll lend you clothes for the night, Dongmin took all of his along when he moved out.”_

“ _Yeah, thanks, I noticed.”_ Junhwe said as he stretched out his arms.

Jinhwan then resumed his work, picking his pen up and drawing black and white circles in a pattern that seemed to make sense to him. A small smile made his way onto Junhwe’s lips as he remembered how Jinhwan had tried to teach him a few things about the piano months ago. It seemed like such an old memory with all that had happened in between.

  


Just as Jinhwan put his pen down, stood up from the chair and made his way towards the main door, the doorbell suddenly rang, making Junhwe jump in surprise. He would never get used to Jinhwan’s sharp hearing.

Only a few seconds later, Jinhwan entered the living room once more, fuming boxes filled with very good smelling food inside.

Just like he had done the past week at the restaurant, Junhwe waited for Jinhwan to start eating to do so himself, more out of habit than respect. He knew that Jinhwan didn’t pay much attention to all those submissive behaviours.

The food was very good, so good that not much was said during the meal. Junhwe had been terribly hungry – he always was – and had thus been in such a rush to fill his rumbling stomach that he had not given much thought to making small talk.

After all, they had the whole evening to themselves.

Junhwe could feel his heart beat picking up at the mere thought of being able to sleep over at Jinhwan’s apartment again.

He had really missed being able to see Jinhwan that much and he was definitely going to make the best out of that evening.

  


  


  


  


(6227 words)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you liked it ! ~


	4. Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at writing fluff. 
> 
> Sorry
> 
> (๏д๏)

  


  


9th April 2017

  


  


When Junhwe woke up, it took him a few minutes to remember where he was. The mouldy ceiling and blue bed sheets definitely weren't part of his bedroom and his confusion only grew stronger once he had sat up in his bed and looked down at his clothes to realise that they were Jinhwan's. He was wearing one of the many over sized plain white tee-shirt that Jinhwan owned. It smelt of fresh laundry and even if it was pleasing, Junhwe was almost disappointed that it was not smelling like honey.

When he finally remembered that he was sleeping over at Jinhwan's apartment, Junhwe quickly reached out for his phone, eager to check the time. He had gone to bed pretty early the previous day and he felt like he had wasted time that he could have used to talk with Jinhwan.

Sadly, it was only 5 a.m. and even if Junhwe wanted to speak with the elder more than anything, he was pretty sure that the elder wouldn't be up.

Junhwe lazily rolled out of bed, his mouth too dry to go back to sleep and he slowly made his way towards the bed room door, wanting to pour himself a glass of water. When he pushed the door open, however, he was blinded by the living-room's artificial light, forcing him to squint to distinguish Jinhwan's silhouette sitting on the couch.

_"_ _You're already up?"_ Jinhwan asked, his voice soft.

Junhwe nodded, feeling his cheeks heat up when he took in the man's appearance. Jinhwan's eyes were puffy from the tiredness and his hair a beautiful mess. He was wearing a white tank top and shorts that showcased his white milky thighs perfectly. Junhwe walked into the living-room in silence and sat down on the couch next to the elder.

_"Why are you up?"_ Junhwe asked, glancing sideways at Jinhwan's ethereal figure.

_"I couldn't sleep, too worked up,"_ he whispered back as he ran a hand gently through his bright orange locks.

Junhwe raised a brow in puzzlement, not knowing what to say. The elder, feeling Junhwe’s stare on his face, looked up to meet the younger man’s dark eyes. Jinhwan’s lips slightly curled upwards sadly before he glanced away, his cheeks slightly red.

“ _I was thinking about you…”_ Jinhwan made a short pause, his breathing uneven. _“...About us.”_

Junhwe’s mouth fell agape as his heart beat picked up madly. His brain was fuzzing with questions and thoughts and everything was such a mess of complex feelings that he couldn’t really find anything to say.

“ _We really should talk,_ ” Jinhwan added, his voice only a whisper.

“ _Yes, we should,”_ Junhwe agreed, his heart beating so hard that he could hear it resonate in his eardrums.

Jinhwan then took a deep breath as he scooted slightly closer to Junhwe so that their thighs could touch, their shoulders bumping in the process. The elder then put his hand on Junhwe’s, squeezing gently. Jinhwan’s palm was too hot and sweaty but for nothing in the world would Junhwe have shrugged it away. He could feel the man’s faint but rapid heart beat pulsing in his hand, just as fast as his own.

“ _I really like you Junhwe.”_ Jinhwan then whispered, his voice incredibly soft and his face red.

Junhwe’s breath hitched and his grip on Jinhwan’s hand unconsciously tightened. He took a deep breath, an attempt at calming his heart down. He could smell Jinhwan’s honey scent and it seemed subtly sweeter to his now sharper nose.

Jinhwan was looking down at the ground, his tongue darting out nervously as he waited for Junhwe’s words. The man had never looked more enticing to Junhwe’s eyes, with his full red lips, flushed face and wild hair.

“ _Well, uh… I, I kinda like you too.”_ Junhwe whispered back, feeling his own palms become sweaty and his face heating up.

Jinhwan raised his gaze up to Junhwe’s, his eyes shining and mouth curled upwards. _“I guess that’ll do for now,”_ he said with a grin and mischievous eyes.

“ _Hey, I just confessed for the first time in my life!”_ Junhwe blurted out, his whole face flushed in embarrassment. 

“ _Well, you said you ‘kinda’ liked me, so you ‘kinda’ confessed,”_ Jinhwan argued as he playfully pushed Junhwe’s shoulder with his own.

“ _Fine, I really like you too, Hyung.”_ Junhwe shot back, voice loud and heart beating wildly.

At that, Jinhwan’s grin widened furthermore before he scooted even closer to lie his head down on Junhwe’s shoulder. A few orange locks fell in front of the man’s face and Junhwe gathered all the courage he had to brush the strands away. Jinhwan tilted his head to look up at Junhwe, his eyes glinting with affection and his lips pulled up in a soft, thankful smile.

Junhwe’s breath caught in his throat as he looked down at the man’s delicate features. A few sun rays were invading the room through the white curtains, lighting up Jinhwan’s face with a clear pristine glow. His red lips were contrasting with his pale complexion, attracting Junhwe’s eyes upon them.

  


The last time they had kissed seemed too far away for Junhwe to really remember what it had felt like, but the only thing he was sure of, in that moment, was that he wanted Jinhwan’s lips on his own.

Without thinking twice, he closed the small space that had been separated their faces and gently pressed his lips against Jinhwan’s, feeling his eyelids flutter shut at the soft contact.

The fear of rejection was making Junhwe’s heart beat painfully in his chest as he pressed the elder impossibly closer. Soon enough, Jinhwan responded eagerly and washed all of Junhwe’s worries away as he pushed his lips even more firmly against his.

  


There had been days of confusion, days of anger and days of fear but now that everything was over and that Junhwe was finally free from all that worry, it seemed as if he was able to breathe evenly again. He had never felt such a warmth spread out throughout his whole body as he held Jinhwan against him, as if it was the only thing grounding him.

Never before had he thought that he would ever be able to feel that way, and he was enjoying every part of his newly found feelings.

“ _So are we, like, uh, boyfriends, or what…?”_ Junhwe whispered once they had parted, his breathing uneven.

“ _Unless you don’t want to...”_ Jinhwan trailed off, his red and plump lips pulling up into a soft smile.

“ _I want to.”_ Junhwe said, trying to appear confident although his could feel his hands shaking.

At that, the elder’s smile widened furthermore, slowing turning into a wide grin that lit up his face beautifully, just the way Junhwe loved the most.

  


Junhwe knew that he had the worst of lucks, and just as he was about to lean in to kiss Jinhwan again, his phone suddenly rang from the bedroom, the noisy tune making both of them jump in surprise.

With a sigh, Junhwe got up from the couch, giving Jinhwan a small, apologetic smile as he slipped inside the room, his brows furrowed in distaste. He had no idea who could be calling him a 5 a.m. on a Sunday but Junhwe hoped from the bottom of his heart that it was really important or he could end up murdering that person.

When he read Donghyuk’s name on the blinding screen, Junhwe almost hung up. Donghyuk always liked to disturb him for futile things and Junhwe wasn’t feeling like answering any of his friend’s life questions when he could just snuggle Jinhwan on the couch instead.

“ _What do you want?”_ Junhwe breathed out, trying to sound as nice as he could manage.

“ _I was just wondering what you were up to.”_ Donghyuk’s witty voice said through the phone

This left Junhwe with nothing to say and just stare blankly at the wall in front of him. He couldn’t tell if Donghyuk was playing a prank on him or if he was simply completely drunk.

“ _It’s 5 a.m., on a Sunday.”_ Junhwe said, his voice flat.

“ _Is it? Do you know what Sunday maybe? Because I was staring up at the ceiling, asking myself very psychological questions and stuff when I suddenly remembered that I was attending a Psychology College.”_

Junhwe recognized that tone, it was the one Donghyuk used when he was being completely ironical and sarcastic.

“ _And it happens that Colleges sometimes give homework to their students.”_

The gasp that left Junhwe’s lips was so loud that it resonated against the walls of the small bedroom. He had completely forgotten about their project on animal behaviours they should have been working on for the past month. Project that was to be handed out on the 10th of April, which happened to be the next day. They were not ready at all.

“ _We’re fucked.”_ Junhwe whispered as he rubbed at his temple, a headache slowly appearing.

“ _We utterly are. I hope you had nothing planned for today because I’m coming over right now to work on that project.”_ Donghyuk stated strongly, the sound of a car engine starting echoing in the background.

It took a few seconds for Junhwe to understand what Donghyuk had said.

“ _Wait no, you can’t! I’m not even home, and don’t use your phone while driving!”_ Junhwe shouted, rushing madly around the room to gather his stuff.

“ _Then where in the world are you?”_ Donghyuk asked, his voice fainter now with the sound of the roaring engine.

Just as Junhwe was about to answer, his bag carelessly thrown over his shoulder, Jinhwan entered the room. The elder looked from Junhwe’s phone against his ear to his packed bag, his smile slowly fading away.

“ _Are you already leaving?”_ He asked, his voice small.

“ _I need to work on the project thing with Donghyuk right now.”_ Junhwe answered, pulling the phone away from his ear as Donghyuk started shouting for Junhwe to answer his question.

“ _Well, you can always work here...”_ Jinhwan trailed off, his cheeks red.

Junhwe thought about it for a second, and decided that, yes, they could in fact work there if Jinhwan was alright with it. Donghyuk lived in the same neighbourhood as Jinhwan and it would be way faster for him to come there instead.

“ _I’m actually over at Jinhwan’s flat. Come there, it’ll be faster.”_ Junhwe said as he brought the phone back to his ear.

“ _Sure, text me the address.”_ Donghyuk then said, seeming a lot happier now that they were going to work on the project seriously. 

Junhwe sighed as he hung up, before sending the text to his friend and throwing his phone onto the bed. He let his bag fall off his shoulder, not worrying one second about the loud sound the crash had made. He then glanced at the elder, still standing in the door frame, arms crossed over his chest and a smirk playing on his lips.

“ _School boy didn’t do his homework?”_ He then asked, his smile only widening when Junhwe answered with a tired grunt.

  


Junhwe had hoped that he could have spent more time with Jinhwan – alone – so that they could talk a bit more, but it seemed like it was going to wait.

  


  


  


“ _So what are you doing in Jinhwan’s house by the way? Not to mention that you’re obviously wearing his clothes.”_ Donghyuk said, a witty smile playing on his lips.

Junhwe sighed and chose not to answer, furiously writing down a few ideas in silence instead. They had been working for less than an hour and Donghyuk was already being nosy. Junhwe had known, the second his friend had entered the house and noticed how Junhwe looked like he had just woken up – which he in fact had – that he was going to ask questions.

After all, Junhwe had never talked about Jinhwan to Donghyuk. They knew each other, of course, but Donghyuk didn’t know about Junhwe’s feelings. It would only be normal for him to be surprised when learning that Junhwe had just slept over the older man’s house.

“ _You slept here right?”_ Donghyuk added as he picked up a pen and wrote down a few things as well.

“ _So what?”_ Junhwe shot back as he sipped down on his hot coffee.

Jinhwan had made them a cup each before going back to sleep. It was very nice of him, and Junhwe liked the attention, but he should tell him, at some point, that he actually didn’t like coffee.

“ _So are you two a thing?”_ Donghyuk then asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Junhwe didn’t like the accusing tone in his friend’s voice, as if it was something bad. They now were officially “a thing”, but Junhwe didn’t really know if telling people was a good idea or not. He knew well how close-minded people could be sometimes and he was definitely not feeling like getting into an argument with his friend over homosexuality.

“ _Jinhwan must love you a lot if he accepted to go out with you.”_

Junhwe felt his cheeks heat up immediately. He dropped his pen and looked up at his friend’s neutral face.

“ _What the hell does that mean? Am I that terrible?”_

Donghyuk’s eyebrows shot up funnily as he stared at his friend, a smile slowly breaking out on his lips.

“ _That’s not what I meant, idiot.”_ Donghyuk said as he shook his head with a laugh, a few locks of warm chocolate hair falling in front of his face. Junhwe’s rose a brow questioningly as he stared at his friend’s mellow smile.

“ _It’s just that… Well, you and I, we’re Hybrids. Jinhwan Hyung is a Lycos. I’m pretty sure you guys can’t mate.”_

  


It took less than a second for Junhwe to realise where the problem was. He, as a Hybrid, could live with more than one partner and would never feel the deep connection that Lycoi had. If he had a human, or even another Hybrid partner, that wouldn’t be a problem, they would just be like any regular human couple.

But for Jinhwan, love was a life-long commitment. Lycoi never f e ll out of love, but Junhwe could.

“ _I’m not trying to mess with you guys, I’m just making sure you know what you’re getting into.”_ Donghyuk quickly added as he noticed Junhwe’s crestfallen face.

Junhwe bitterly nodded, trying as hard as he could to focus on his work. Mating wasn’t something he should be worrying about yet. Jinhwan had seemed just as eager as him to get into a relationship, even if he probably was aware of that issue.

Their couple was not even a day old and Junhwe was already worrying too much.

He took a deep breath, ran a hand through his bleached hair and sighed. For now, he should first finish the project with Donghyuk. He could talk to Jinhwan about that matter some other time, even if Junhwe knew he would be too cowardly to ever start the conversation.

  


  


  


  


10th April 2017

  


  


The hard work they had both put in their project seemed to have paid off. When Junhwe and Donghyuk had arrived on Monday morning, they had been among the few other students who had been able to hand out their projects in time. The others had requested a bit longer, but they would lose points.

Even if they had had to completely sacrifice their entire Sunday to work, it had all been worth it in the end. The project was complete and they were both very proud of their analysis. They hoped to get a very good grade, especially since Junhwe hadn’t had any time to spend with Jinhwan because of that assignment.

  


It was 4 p.m. when Junhwe finally left the main building to sit down under a tree in the main yard. Most students had already left the campus, but he knew that Jinhwan was still in the other building. He always stayed behind on Mondays to compose a bit longer.

Junhwe really needed to ask him to play him a few songs, or maybe try to teach him a few things again even if Junhwe was apparently completely untalented.

Junhwe let out a lazy yawn as he looked up at the blue sky. The weather was very mild, and the sun was shining so bright that Junhwe had to squint to look at the too bright clouds.

The smell of flowers was hanging in the air, fitting perfectly the spring atmosphere the campus was basking in. The leaves above his head were all of a vibrant green that reminded him of the Gonjiam forest.

Junhwe hadn’t gone back to the den ever since he had gotten in touch with Jinhwan. It wasn’t that he had no reason to go any more – after all he had come to simply enjoy the soothing atmosphere of the place – he had just not had the time.

Now that the war was over, he could probably end up seeing a few other of his Lycos friends roaming around the forest. Junhwe really missed them, especially the ones he had gotten close to, like Haneul, or even Hoseok and Taehyung. Junhwe even wanted to see Jimin. 

He still thought of Yoongi from time to time, and even if the pain had faded away, there was still a feeling of guilt present that would probably never truly fade away. Junhwe knew that apologizing, especially after such a long time, wouldn’t really change anything but he still thought he owed Jimin one.

He also needed to see for himself how things had advanced between Jimin and Dongmin. He hoped from the bottom of his heart that the two of them could end up happy together forever, without anyone to break the bond this time.

They both deserved it.

  


“ _What are you thinking of?”_

Junhwe’s head shot up to meet Jinhwan’s warm eyes. He was standing only a meter away, looking down at Junhwe with his head slightly tilted to the side questioningly. A small smile was adorning his pink lips as the wind gently blew, ruffling Jinhwan’s bright orange hair.

“ _I was thinking of the other Lycoi.”_ Junhwe said as Jinhwan sat down next to him.

The elder hummed in acknowledgement as he tilted his head backwards, staring at the gorgeous skyline in silence. He then closed his eyes, letting his eyelashes gently flutter against his high cheekbones as his nose slightly twitched.

“ _Spring smells the best.”_ He whispered, his voice almost drowned out by the sound of the leaves ruffled by the gentle wind.

Junhwe felt a smile blossom on his lips that widened for each second he stared at Jinhwan. The elder looked utterly peaceful and relaxed, and it really warmed Junhwe’s heart. He hadn’t had many occasions to witness Jinhwan seem so at ease.

  


For a few minutes, none of them said anything. They just remained silent, enjoying each other’s company along with the mild weather, until Jinhwan spoke up.

“ _Do you want to see them again?”_ He asked, his voice more gentle than ever before.

At this, Junhwe glanced at the elder, locking eyes for a few seconds.

“ _Yes, I do.”_ Junhwe answered simply with a small smile.

Jinhwan nodded, before glancing back up at the cloudless sky, deep in thoughts. His brows were slightly furrowed from his state of focus and Junhwe found it utterly endearing.

“ _Do you maybe want to go back to the den?”_

“ _No.”_

The answer had left Junhwe lips before he even had the time to think about it first. He missed his friends, he missed the gorgeous forest, but the scary and bloodied psychiatric hospital was definitely not something he missed.

Junhwe had more eerie memories linked to that place than beautiful ones. Plus, all the friends he had made were from the  Swamp Pack, which meant that they wouldn’t be in the Cloud Pack’s den.

“ _Do you think we could go to Dongmin’s apartment instead?”_ Junhwe asked as he followed Jinhwan’s line of sight to catch the moving silhouette of an aircraft slowly floating amongst the blue seas of the sky.

“ _We can always ask.”_ Jinhwan said, a smile audible in his voice.

Junhwe hummed, his heart lighter. His short talk with Dongmin had definitely not been enough. They had a lot of catch-up to do and he missed his best friend more than anything.

  


  


If luck was usually never on Junhwe’s side, it appeared that that day might have been one of the few on which things didn’t completely suck for him. Just as Jinhwan and Junhwe were about to the leave the school, Junhwe picked up a smell that seemed vaguely familiar, slightly more slowly than Jinhwan did as the elder had turned around a few seconds earlier, scanning the area.

Shortly after, a tall silhouette appeared, crossing the main yard and making its way towards Jinhwan and Junhwe, near the main entrance. The man had wild jet black hair that spiked out in every direction and as he came closer, Junhwe distinguished familiar honey eyes that were looking at both of them with an obvious surprise.

  


Junhwe had not seen Haneul in a while, but the other man had not changed at all, which was rather comforting. The man’s long legs crossed the remaining meters quickly, leaving the three of them to stand at the campus entrance in silence.

Junhwe knew that Haneul and Jinhwan never really got along and he was pretty sure that he couldn’t count on Jinhwan to start the conversation this time. So, Junhwe forced a small smile on his lips, trying to sound as casual as possible when he spoke up.

“ _Long time no see.”_ He stated, fumbling with his hands awkwardly.

“ _Yeah, it’s been a while.”_ Haneul answered with a genuine smile.

The two of them hadn’t exactly parted on good terms, even if it was still way better than Junhwe’s fight with Dongmin, and he had somehow expected things to be very awkward with Haneul, but Junhwe was apparently the only one feeling uneasy.

Haneul seemed merely happy, and nowhere close to angry, which was something that lifted a huge weight over Junhwe’s heart. Besides Dongmin, Haneul was probably the closest Lycos friend he had and he wanted to cherish that bond.

“ _We were just talking about you.”_ Jinhwan then said with a small smile.

Haneul raised a curious brow as he looked at Jinhwan sideways. There seemed to be no animosity – yet – but Junhwe couldn’t help but worry.

“ _What were you saying?”_ Haneul asked, still staring at Jinhwan strongly.

Jinhwan shrugged, breaking the eye contact to look at Junhwe instead, his smile softening _. “Just saying that we should visit you guys over at the apartment someday._ ”

Haneul seemed surprised at first, his brows shooting up funnily as he looked from Jinhwan to Junhwe in silence. Junhwe couldn’t really blame Haneul for that. After all, their two packs had only been allied for the sake of the war. Now that it was over, they had no reason to see each other any more.

It would make sense for Jinhwan and Dongmin to keep in touch, as they were childhood friends, but Haneul had probably not been expecting Jinhwan to be wanting to the see the rest of the pack as well.

Junhwe wasn’t even sure Jinhwan wanted to see them in the first place, it had been Junhwe’s idea but no matter what Jinwhan’s thoughts were regarding the Swamp Pack, Junhwe was very pleased that the elder had accepted to see them again.

“ _Well, someday could be today.”_ Haneul then said, a gummy smile blossoming on his lips.

It was Junhwe’s turn to be surprised, his mouth agape and eyes wide. He could feel his heart beating faster with happiness. He had been missing all of his Lycoi friends much more than what he had thought.

“ _I was actually on my way to the flat. We have a meeting so everyone will be there.”_ Haneul added, his smile still as big.

“ _Is it alright for us to butt in?”_ Junhwe asked as he looked at Haneul with worry.

Haneul nodded as he fished his phone out, probably contacting another pack member. Junhwe glanced down to meet Jinhwan’s eyes, which were already staring back at him. As their eyes locked, a small smile broke on Jinhwan’s face. Junhwe smiled back, feeling utterly stupid and dumb, but too happy to care.

  


Things had never been to great before for him. He had been able to see Jinhwan again, and even more than that, he had been able to get his head out of his ass and act like a grown-up for once. Facing his feelings was something Junhwe was really terrible at, but for once he had, and he was really happy that he did.

Now he was going to be able to see his friends again and after being on his own without his mother for a few months, that seemed like heaven.

  


  


  


The first thing Junhwe noticed when he entered the flat was the strong smell hanging around in the air. He had not been confronted with territorial Alpha pheromones ever since he had worked on his scent perception and being suddenly thrown into a pack’s den was probably not the best idea he had had that day.

There were so many smells that were all different that Junhwe couldn’t even tell how many people lived here, or how many were present. It was if his nose was suddenly completely useless, the smells too overpowering.

  


Just as they entered what seemed to be the living-room, Junhwe smelled a very distinct smell that was very different from any other, but also more subtle. It was so vaguely familiar that Junhwe even doubted he knew the person, but when his eyes fell upon the small frame of the youthful looking man sitting on the couch, he immediately recognized him.

Just like Haneul, or Dongmin, Jimin hadn’t changed at all. His black shiny hair was slightly longer and his fringe was now hovering closer above his eyes, almost hiding them away.

“ _Hi Jiminie.”_ Haneul cheerfully said as he sat down next to the older man.

“ _It’s Hyung.”_ Jimin whispered back, too engrossed in the show playing on the TV in front of him for him to really pay attention to his surroundings.

Haneul sighed before getting up and walking back to Jinhwan and Junhwe’s sides. Junhwe had rarely seen Haneul look so comfortable and confident and it really surprised him. Jinhwan, on the other, looked utterly uneasy and Junhwe almost felt bad. But after all, Jinhwan had been the one to insist on going to their den straight away.

“ _Who are they?”_

Junhwe’s head shot up as he looked around until his eyes fell upon a completely foreign boy. He looked like he could be around Junhwe’s age, but he might as well have been younger, his big doe eyes making him look very youthful.

“ _Junhwe, Jinhwan, meet the new member, Jungkook.”_ Haneul announced proudly as he ruffled the boy’s jet black hair.

Junhwe gave out a polite smile to which Jungkook answered with a curt nod. Junhwe didn’t even it was possible to find someone as socially disabled as him.

Haneul looked like he was about to go on and rant about their newest Lycos when Jimin suddenly got up from the couch, turned the TV off and walked up to them. He looked at Junhwe warmly, a soft smile on his lips.

“ _How have you been Junhwe?”_ He asked, his voice high and cheerful.

Junhwe didn’t know how genuine Jimin truly was. He knew that the man was probably still hurting and simply putting on a brave front, but Junhwe was very thankful for that. Jimin was kinder than anyone he had met before.

“ _I’ve been well, thanks.”_ Junhwe answered, feeling a small smile stretching out on his lips despite him.

“ _Probably not as well as Haneul though,”_ Haneul gasped in indignation as Jimin spoke, “ _now that he isn’t the youngest any more, he thinks he can do whatever he wants.”_

A soft giggle escaped Jungkook’s lips as the boy covered his bunny teeth with a shy hand. At that, Haneul playfully pushed his shoulder, making the younger boy gasp in surprise.

“ _Don’t make fun of your Hyung.”_ He ordered, his voice mock-strict. 

Jungkook’s lips thinned out immediately nonetheless, as if he was trying really hard to hold in another giggle.

“ _See, exactly what I was telling you.”_ Jimin said with a shrug before turning towards Jinhwan and engaging into a small conversation.

Junhwe fell silent as he watched the others, feeling more content than ever. Jimin truly looked better, and Junhwe was really happy that they had found another member to help them restructure the pack. Jungkook seemed nice, and that was all they needed at that moment, kindness.

Junhwe then glanced at Jinhwan, his heart immediately becoming lighter when he saw how relaxed he looked. Now that he was happily chatting with Jimin, he didn’t look like he regretted tagging along any more and Junhwe saw that as his personal little win.

  


  


The nice cosy atmosphere was suddenly halted when the front door opened without any warning, a strong familiar smell quickly invading the living-room shortly after. A few moments later, Dongmin entered the room, looking completely unfazed by the sight of Jinhwan and Junhwe in his den. He had probably been the one Haneul had texted.

Soon enough, a smile broke on Dongmin’s face as he walked up to Junhwe and hugged him shortly. It only lasted a few seconds, but Junhwe had needed that warmth, even for such a short time. It was alike a promise that certified that they were back to normal.

Dongmin then moved on to greet Jinhwan, leaving Junhwe to watch the two of them with a small smile. He felt really happy to be by his friends’ sides along Jinhwan’s for the first time in months. Before he had met them, Junhwe had never expected to ever have such a large group of friends with people he would love from the bottom of his heart.

“ _I know y’all came for the meeting but we’ll postpone it until tonight. For now, let’s have fun.”_ Dongmin then said before leaving the living-room to come back a few seconds later with drinks.

A general cheer arose before everyone went to their own stuff. Jimin plopped back down on the sofa, stretching his body out to comfortably watch the TV. He was quickly joined by Dongmin and even if they weren’t awfully close, Junhwe had noticed the way Dongmin’s ears had reddened when their thighs had brushed. It seemed like things hadn’t advanced any further but Junhwe hoped they eventually would.

Jinhwan, after giving Junhwe a big smile, had left to talk with Haneul, which had greatly surprised him. Jinhwan had added that it was to try to talk things out so that they wouldn’t be so awkward any more.

Junhwe reckoned he should probably do the same with Dongmin, but for now he was happy with the way things were. 

A few minutes later, Hoseok and his mate – Nayeon – had arrived, quickly followed by Taehyung. After a few minutes of greetings and small talk, the trio had disappeared into another room to play games.

Junhwe had been left on his own to stand awkwardly in the middle of the living-room. He felt slightly out of place but he was also too happy to really care. Just being able to be around his friends, hearing their laughs and witnessing their joy with his own eyes was enough for him. He had been worried that after going through a war, some of them would have drastically changed, and even if they all did seem more mature and aged by the reality of life, deep down they were still the same innocent children they had always been.

Just as Junhwe was about to go for the couch, a faint and shy touch on his elbow made him stop in his tracks before turning around to find Jungkook, looking up at him quietly.

“ _I’m sorry, but, what are you? I’m still a Pup so I can’t tell kinds apart sometimes...”_ Jungkook said, his voice so small that Junhwe had troubles hearing him.

His question, once registered, brought a small smile to Junhwe’s lips. Jungkook was probably so awkward with him because he didn’t know how to act around him. Junhwe had gathered, from his time spent around Lycoi, that Pups’ respect towards Alphas and Betas was great because they were the ones who protected them and trained them. It didn’t mean that they did not respect Omegas, but rather that they felt more at ease with them.

“ _I’m a Hybrid, it’s no surprise you couldn’t tell.”_ Junhwe said with a small smile.

Jungkook’s brows shot up high, his big eyes widening further more. Junhwe couldn’t blame him for being surprised, but he was very glad that Jungkook didn’t seem to take it wrongly. Junhwe had never had to actually introduce himself as a Hybrid and even if the words still seemed odd leaving his mouth, he had eventually come to terms with it, but he still didn’t know how other Lycoi would react.

Jinhwan had told him that he had never even heard of Hybrids before meeting Junhwe and that the only other he now knew was Donghyuk.

“ _I’ve never met a Hybrid before, my apologies for the misunderstanding.”_ Jungkook quickly said, his ears almost as red as the rest of his face.

Junhwe shrugged the apology away, before quickly explaining that, from what he had seen so far, Hybrids weren’t a common thing.

The two of them spoke a bit longer, Jungkook telling Junhwe a bit more about himself. The boy was actually from Busan and used to be part of the same pack as Jimin. He had joined the Swamp Pack only a few weeks ago, after the end of the war, because he had moved out to Seoul for his studies and had had no one to stay with.

It had brought a smile to Junhwe lips when Jungkook had started saying how great of a Main Alpha Dongmin was, even whispering, with red ears, that he hoped to be a Lycos as great as him someday. 

  


  


Before he had even realised it, Junhwe had been over Dongmin’s flat for more than an hour already and it was getting late. They still needed to do their meeting and Junhwe was growing hungry. Even if didn’t feel like leaving, he needed to. After biding goodbye to all his friends, Junhwe left along Jinhwan. 

The older man had driven him there and Junhwe certainly didn’t feel like walking back home.

Once they were sat inside the car, Junhwe let out a sigh and stretched out, feeling worn out. He hadn’t laughed this much in a while and he felt completely exhausted, but also content.

“ _You look happy.”_ Jinhwan remarked as he turned the engine on.

“ _I am.”_ Junhwe answered easily with a smile.

Jinhwan grinned back before focusing on the road, taking the path to Junhwe’s neighbourhood. 

During the drive home, the two of them talked of their evening over at Dongmin’s flat. Jinhwan told Junhwe that he had somehow worked things out with Haneul, they had both apologized for their behaviours, and Jinhwan also added that Haneul really regretted marking Junhwe they way he had.

Junhwe had then gone on explaining his small talk with Jungkook, also mentioning how close Dongmin and Jimin were growing.

  


After a few more minutes, the two of them arrived in front of Junhwe’s house. Jinwhan parked the car on the side before turning the engine off. The two of them exited the car and walked up to the house’s front door.

Jinhwan’s smile had disappeared and the elder was almost pouting as he looked at Junhwe fishing his keys out of his pocket. Junhwe didn’t really want to part with the elder either, but he had homework to do, no matter how much he wanted to sleep over at Jinhwan’s apartment again. But driving all the way back would take too long.

Junhwe unlocked the door, opened it and turned towards Jinhwan, feeling suddenly immensely awkward. He didn’t really know what he should do or say to his new boyfriend when parting. 

Jinhwan, at that point, was straight out pouting, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at Junhwe, almost as if judging him.

Junhwe cleared his throat, trying to push the embarrassment away as he approached the elder slowly. 

“ _See you tomorrow?”_ Junhwe said, feeling unsure.

Jinhwan didn’t answer. He broke the eye contact as he took another step forward to hug Junhwe.

Junhwe immediately tensed up and looked around the street, praying for none of his neighbours to be around. Noticing that they were completely alone, Junhwe hugged the elder back, feeling his eyelids flutter shut as he breathed in the familiar scent that always managed to tug at his heart.

“ _Since you’re not going to ask, can I stay over please?”_ Jinhwan then said, his voice muffled by Junhwe’s shirt.

Junhwe’s mouth fell open but no sound came out. His heart was beating fast as he thought Jinhwan’s offer over.

After what seemed like an eternity, he took a small step back to look at Jinhwan’s flushed face, before nodding. It was sudden and Junhwe didn’t like taking  hasty decisions but the longer he stared at Jinhwan’s elated, the ore he believed that he was making the right choice.

For now, all Junhwe wanted to do was to spend as much time as he could with Jinhwan. 

  


  


  


(6284 words)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody! Thank you very much for reading this chapter until the end, I hope you liked it.
> 
> I'm really sorry that I took so long to update the story. I'm currently going through what we call The Hell Month over here, aka EXAMs TIME. YAY.
> 
> I had planned to write a chapter per week for that story, looks like that's not gonna happen, lol. Soz.
> 
> Next chapter might actually be the last one. I had planned for the sequel to be around 6 chapters no more and I think I'll only need one more chapter to finish it. I'll try to post it as soon as I can, but it shouldn't take too long this time, so bear with me ~
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading until the end and please do leave a comment if you enjoyed it, it will always ake any writer happy to know what people think of their work.
> 
> bYE ~


	5. Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for taking so long to update (again). Truth is, I'm working on another fiction atm and I was so caught up in the new story that I kind of forgot about JunHwan lol. Sorry again, I hope you'll enjoy it.

  


  


11th April 2017

  


  


It was the light coming through the window that woke Junhwe up. He slowly rubbed at his heavy eyelids, trying to blink the sleep away as he sat up in his bed.

The first thing he did was to look around him, feeling relief wash over him as he noticed the mop of orange hair poking out from under the blanket.

  


When Junhwe had accepted for Jinhwan to sleep over, he had forgotten to think through what it meant. Junhwe didn’t really want anybody to sleep in his mother’s bed, but he couldn’t really let Jinhwan sleep on the couch downstairs on his own.

Junhwe would have let Jinhwan use his bed and he would have slept on the couch instead, but he knew very well how utterly uncomfortable that couch was. He had slept on it a few times where he had been to lazy to crawl up the steps to his room and he had bitterly regretted that choice.

  


And so, they had decided to sleep together. After all, even if Junhwe’s face had turned crimson at Jinwhan’s offer, they were a couple and it was only normal for them to share a bed.

Yet, Junhwe had remained awake for a few hours, feeling all giddy at the warmth next to him. At last, exhaustion had forced him into a dream-less sleep, but he had enjoyed every single second he had had to listen to Jinhwan’s even breathing and look at his cute sleeping face.

  


Junhwe knew that he was far too gone.

  


Slowly, he sat up, trying not to wake Jinhwan who was still sleeping soundly. He stretched out his arms above his head, feeling content when he heard the satisfying pop of bones. A quick look at his phone on the bedside table told Junhwe that it was only 7am and that he still had a bit of time left before waking Jinhwan up. 

Junhwe knew that they both started at 9 on Tuesdays and the last bus that they could take to arrive on time was at 8:30.

Junhwe put his phone back on the bedside table, before turning around and looking at Jinhwan. The older man’s face was covered by the blanket and Junhwe was suddenly remembered of the day on which he had tried to take a look at the man’s sleeping face. He hadn’t succeeded.

With a small smile, Junhwe gently uncovered the elder’s face, pushing the white blanket away.

Jinhwan’s eyes were tightly closed, his small hands curled up into tiny fists. The older man’s breathing was even, his chest slowly raising and falling steadily. The faint light from the morning sun coming through the window was illuminating Jinhwan’s face gently, making his pale skin glow even more than what it usually did. The man’s pink lips were slightly puckered and Junhwe almost kissed the pout away.

  


Without making any sound, Junhwe slowly crawled out of the bed and left the room, closing the door as gently as he could.

Junhwe was feeling pretty kind and unusually caring and so he decided to set up a whole breakfast for Jinhwan.

Just as he was about to walk down the stairs, Junhwe stopped in his tracks and looked back at the door next to his own – his mother’s bedroom. With a small smile, Junhwe made his way towards the room,

  


As he stood in the middle of the room in silence, Junhwe felt his heart beat pick up. He missed his mother, he missed her a lot, but at least the pain wasn’t so strong any more. He had managed, over the past weeks to put her stuff away into crate boxes.

He had considered Jinhwan’s offer through, and even if he wasn’t exactly ready to leave his childhood house, he knew he was going to, at some point.

The house was way too big for him to live in it alone and he knew that never ever would he have the courage to clean the whole thing. Junhwe wasn’t very fond of spiders.

Junhwe had decided that he was going to put away all of his mother and his own stuff in moving crates, take all of that over to Jinhwan’s flat and sell the house. Junhwe didn’t really need any money yet, since he had inherited all of his mother’s, but it could always come in handy.

  


He had big plans, and he was looking forward to finally leave the sad and empty house to live with his boyfriend, but he was also scared.

  


Junhwe took a deep breath and left the room. He walked down the stairs in silence and entered the kitchen, choosing to set up breakfast instead of rehashing negative thoughts.

The only thing Junhwe could try to do was to prove to his boyfriend that he had chosen the right partner. Junhwe was tired of being an idiot child. He was 20, and he really needed to start acting like his age.

  


The thing was that Junhwe was a terrible cook, and that he also didn’t even know what Jinhwan liked for breakfast. He knew that the elder loved coffee, and it was his only solid guess.

And so, Junhwe made coffee. Or rather, he tried. He had somehow managed to set the water temperature too low, and so the powder had not correctly blended, resulting into a cup of brownish water with floating particles.

With a sigh, Junhwe placed the cup on the table and turned towards the stove, lost in thoughts. He didn’t know how to cook at all, and for the past months he had went to the nearby bakery to get breakfast.

It would probably look less fancy to have a poor croissant on a plate rather than a home-made traditional breakfast, but Junhwe knew very well his more than lacking ability to cook. He’d rather go out and buy Jinhwan something than poison him.

  


And so, Junhwe left the house, huddled in a warm jacket to shield himself from the fresh morning breeze. 

The bakery was less than a block away and even Junhwe’s oh-so-infamous laziness wasn’t going to keep him from walking there. As soon as he arrived, he bought a few pastries for the two of them and quickly headed back.

  


  


  


“ _Where were you?”_

Junhwe almost had a heart attack. He had just locked the front door when Jinhwan had suddenly spoken up, scaring the life out of the poor boy.

Junhwe slowly turned around, his arms filled with pastries before taking in the sight that was Jinhwan.

The elder only had a shirt and his underwear on, revealing the expense of his flawless milky-white skin. His eyes were puffy and red, a clear sign that he had just woken up and his hair was a complete mess.

Jinhwan looked a lot younger and vulnerable than Junhwe knew him to be, and this pure sight brought a grin to his lips despite him.

“ _Don’t laugh, I woke up all alone and the best was super cold.”_ Jinhwan whined with a yawn.

Junhwe felt his cheeks heat up, not used to such intimacy and domesticity between the two of them. He was embarrassed but it was a good kind of embarrassment and Junhwe reckoned that he probably could get used to that warm feeling spreading throughout his chest.

“ _Sorry, I went out to buy breakfast.”_ Junhwe said with a smile as he walked past the elder and dropped the bags on the table.

The cup that he had left there was empty, and he couldn’t hold back another grin when he thought how bad it must have tasted.

“ _Did you drink what was in the cup?”_ He asked with a small laugh.

Jinhwan’s nose scrunched up at the question. The elder eyed with a badly contained disgust the empty cup and slowly answered, “ _Yes, I did drink that thing.”_

Junhwe would have almost been offended if he hadn’t been aware of how terrible the coffee he had attempted to make truly was. He apologized to the elder with a small laugh before dropping down on one of the chair, ready to devour the croissants.

He was quickly joined by Jinhwan who, although very ungrateful for the drink, seemed very happy with the food.

“ _Thanks for breakfast, that’s very kind of you, Junhwe”_ Jinhwan said after a while, his voice sincere and eyes soft.

Junhwe shrugged, cheeks red, and chose to stuff his face with delicious pastries instead of answering. He had never been good at dealing with praises or gratitude.

Soon enough – which seemed way too soon for Junhwe – the two of them had to finish up their meal in order to get dressed and leave for college. They were approaching the end of the year and each lesson was important, especially for Jinhwan since he was a senior. He had to study for his finals and being late to lectures was probably not the best way to have a spotless record.

  


Once sat on the bus, both a bit breathless from the run they had had to do in order to catch the bus, Junhwe was reminded of the first time that he had ridden then bus with Jinhwan.

The mere memory of his creepy attempt at smelling Jinhwan’s cologne was cringe-worthy enough for him to almost face-palm.

Thankfully, if Jinhwan remembered, he didn’t mention anything, and the ride was pretty uneventful.

  


Jinhwan, as – almost – always was taking his lecture in one of the hall in the second building, while Junhwe was in the first one. And so, with an awkward wave of the hand, the two of them parted to attend their own schedules.

  


Junhwe noticed, when he entered his classroom, that Donghyuk was thankfully already there, and so he went to sit next to his friend. He knew, however, the second he saw the boy’s mischievous smirk, that he was going to have a very long first period.

“ _So, are you dating Jinhwan yet?”_ Donghyuk asked, his voice honey-like. 

Junhwe almost denied, because he knew that Donghyuk was going to , but he was far too proud and happy of his relationship with Jinhwan not to brag.

“ _Well, yeah, we’re dating.”_ Junhwe whispered.

Junwhe was very thankful that there weren’t a lot of students present yet, because Donghyuk outwardly squealed without an ounce of self awareness.

“ _Dude keep it down!”_ Junhwe cried out as he punched his friend’s shoulder rather gently.

“ _But that’s adorable!”_ Donghyuk answered, eyes glinting.

Junhwe sighed, but he wasn’t really annoyed. On the contrary, he was actually happy that Donghyuk supported their relationship. He also thought, with amusement, that Dongmin would probably react the same way when he would tell him.

That thought suddenly reminded Junhwe, that he, indeed, should contact Dongmin.

And so, as soon as the long hour of listening to the endless squeals of joy from Donghyuk ended, Junhwe rushed out of the room and sent a message to his bestfriend. The text was short and clear. He wanted to see him to talk. Where? He didn’t know. When? He didn’t really know either.

But Dongmin was used to Junhwe’s personality, he would easily come up with a place and date.

He came up with that so easily even that less than five minutes later, just as Junhwe had been about to enter the room for the next period, he received a message from Dongmin.

His best friend suggested that they ate lunch together out in town and talked a bit, which was exactly was Junhwe had wanted.

  


  


  


  


“ _Hi bud!”_ Junhwe greeted happily as he unceremoniously dropped down on the chair in front of Dongmin.

His best friend eyed him warily, visibly surprised by Junhwe apparent joy, which was a very rare sight.

“ _Hi...”_ Dongmin said, unsure, as he sipped down on his milkshake.

Junhwe’s smile only widened. Dongmin had cut his hair short, slightly shorter than before. He looked even younger that way and Junhwe’s heart warmed as he thought back on their middle school days.

“ _That hair cut suits you,”_ he said easily, eyes glinting with happiness.

Dongmin froze in place as he looked at his best friend in silence. He was completely bewildered.

“ _That place is really nice, I’ve never been here before,”_ Junhwe added at his friend’s lack of answer.

The place was actually indeed pretty nice. It was a place that only offered waffles and Junhwe didn’t usually craved sweet things for lunch, but he knew how much Dongmin loved waffles, so he didn’t really mind.

He just wanted to spend some time with his best friend.

“ _Who are you and where is my y Junhwe?”_ Dongmin asked suddenly, his eyes still wide open in surprise.

“ _Too happy to be y,”_ Junhwe said quickly before picking up the menu and settling on something to eat.

He was hungry.

Just as Dongmin was about to speak up, a waitress walked up to their table to take their order. It came to no surprise when Dongmin asked for the biggest and the sweetest waffle, and it even brought a smile to Junhwe’s lips to be able to hang around his best friend like before.

Junhwe ordered one of their savoury waffle, and a milkshake after Dongmin had recommended the strawberry one.

As soon as the waitress had left, Dongmin spoke up.

“ _So what is making you that happy?”_

Junhwe could help his smile to widen and his heart beat to pick up in expectation.

“ _I’m dating Jinhwan Hyung.”_

At that, Dongmin’s jaw dropped so low that Junhwe feared it might hit the table. His best friend shook his head in disbelief, eyes wide in shock.

“ _You’re kidding.”_

Dongmin wasn’t exactly behaving the way Junhwe had pictured it, but it wasn’t like he seemed angry either.

“ _Well, no, I’m not kidding.”_

Dongmin’s mouth slowly closed, then he nodded once, and then twice, still very much in a shocked state.

“ _Don’t take me wrong, I’m really happy for you, it’s just… Well… Jinhwan is… And you’re...”_ Dongmin trailed off as he awkwardly gestured towards Junhwe.

Junhwe knew what Dongmin meant. He, himself, was worrying about the choice Jinhwan had made.

“ _I know, we can’t mate but it’s a life commitment for Jinhwan Hyung anyway.”_

Dongmin nodded again, his eyes softening when he took in Junhwe’s worried features.

Junhwe had spent a whole night next to a sleeping Jinhwan thinking about their relationship and what it implied. Junhwe liked Jinhwan a lot, and even if he felt awkward using a different word to label his feelings, he was pretty sure that with a bit of time, he could only fall head over heels in love with the perfect human – or rather Lycos – that Jinhwan was.

Junhwe wasn’t planning on ever stopping liking Jinhwan, but he knew well that it wasn’t how feelings worked. 

It had only been after hours and hours of useless thinking that Junhwe had given up. After all, he couldn’t know what the future held and the only thing that he could do was to try to be the perfect ‘mate’ for Jinhwan, even if they could never become linked the way Lycoi were.

Junhwe was thankful that Jinhwan had chosen him and he was determined to make the elder happy with his decision.

“ _I’m taking this very seriously, so you don’t need to worry.”_ Junhwe stated, trying to look as honest and genuine as possible.

He knew that it was very much unlike him to sound so mature and he almost expected Dongmin to burst out laughing, but his best friend only nodded, his face just as serious.

“ _Hey, by the way, that reminds me that I had a favour to ask of you.”_ Dongmin said out of the blue, looking suddenly very uneasy.

Junhwe cocked his head to the side in a silent question.

“ _Jinhwan isn’t exactly rich and ever since I left his flat, I know he’s been having trouble paying the bills since we don’t split any more...”_ Dongmin trailed off.

Junhwe listening attentively. He had been aware that things had been a bit rough for Jinhwan but he hadn’t thought that it was that bad.

“ _I know you’re living on your own, so I thought maybe… You could, well…”_ Dongmin cleared his throat awkwardly. _“Since you’re dating...”_

“ _You want me to move in with him.”_ Junhwe stated, almost snorting when Dongmin nodded shyly.

_“I mean, you do what you want, I’m just suggesting it. I’m feeling bad that I left him all alone to pay the rent.”_

Junhwe hummed in thoughts. He had already been considering it for a while, hell, he had even started packing a few things. He had simply not expected things to go that fast. 

But maybe it wasn’t really that fast. In all, Junhwe had already known Jinhwan for half a year and he had lived with him in his flat for a week, and then they had shared a room for a whole month.

He knew the elder pretty well, and they were even dating now, even if it had been only a few days. Junhwe knew that couples don’t exactly move in after two days of relationship but he and Jinhwan used to be friends before being lovers. They had went through a war together and they knew each other well enough.

Plus, Jinhwan needed a bit of help for the rent and Junhwe had a lot of money saved up from his own part time jobs and his mother’s legacy.

  


He had made up his mind.

“ _Well, Jinhwan Hyung had already offered for me to move in with him so...”_

Dongmin’s face seemed to suddenly light up like a Christmas tree at Junhwe’s words.

“ _You’re the best,”_ Dongmin said, his voice sincere and eyes honest.

Junhwe gave his best friend a wide grin.

  


A few minutes later, their food arrived and they both dug in without further ado – they had been starving. Unlike what Junhwe had expected, the waffle was pretty good and very fluffy, which only contributed to increase his good mood.

Once they both had finished eating, and drinking their milkshakes, the two boys fell back into their usual routine of small talk and stupid jokes.

Junhwe hadn’t even realised how much he had missed being this casual with Dongmin.

“ _By the way, when are you coming back to school?”_ Junhwe suddenly asked, remembering that he had seen Haneul on campus the morning.

“ _Soon, we’ve recruited a few Lycoi and we’ve got Leads so everything is settle_ _d_ _for the pack.”_ Dongmin explained.

Junhwe hummed in acknowledgement. He missed sitting next to Dongmin. Thankfully, most classrooms had way enough space for three people to sit on the benches and Junhwe was going to be able to sit with both his best friend and Donghyuk.

The two boys were so similar that Junhwe didn’t worry even one second about the two of them getting along.

1’o’clock was growing near and so the two boys paid for their food and left the restaurant. Dongmin needed to buy a few things for the flat and Junhwe had a few things planned for the rest of the day so they bid each other goodbye and they both left, not without huge grins, to do their own stuff.

Junhwe was supposed to attend his practical research course on Tuesdays afternoon but he was dropping the class next year and it always bored him out of his mind so he chose instead to walk back home, since he hadn’t been too far, and put things away.

Jinhwan had already everything he needed in his flat, and so Junhwe had decided to sell the house with all the furniture inside, he would earn more out of the sale this way. The only thing he was taking along was the mess of things that belonged to him in his bedroom. Books, clothes, a few old toys and the things that he had been gifted over the years. Packing – or rather throwing all of that into boxes randomly hadn’t taken long and Junhwe was done completely putting away his own stuff only two hours later.

The only other thing he was taking were his mother’s work related papers. She had never had any real belongings beside jewellery and clothing. Junhwe was not going to keep the latter but he did put the jewellery away in a box to keep it as a memento.

By 6pm, Junhwe was completely exhausted and drenched in sweat, but the house had never been this clean and everything, save for a few clothes that he could roll up in a bag and toiletries that he would need, was packed into crates.

  


Junhwe had put everything away more on a whim than because of reflected thoughts. Hearing Dongmin say how hard it was on Jinhwan, and yet never hearing the elder complain had made Junhwe realise how hard his boyfriend was truly working.

Junhwe hoped that Jinhwan would be happy to know that Junhwe had finally made up his mind and wanted to move in with him.

  


But Junhwe didn’t really know how to tell him. He knew that it was the kind of things to be told face to face but Junhwe was just too scared. He knew it was lame, and he almost regretted pushing in the button ‘Send’ as soon as he did, but it was too late. He had sent the text, and he was too nervous to look at his phone.

Once again, the text had been short and simple. Junhwe wanted to move in.

  


  


Junhwe almost had a heart attack when his phone suddenly rang. He thought of not picking up, too scared at the idea of speaking with the elder, but he had decided to start acting like an adult.

And adults aren’t exactly scared of answering phone calls, especially ones from their lovely boyfriend.

“ _Hi, Hyung.”_ Junhwe said, voice tight.

“ _Hi, uh, could you open you front door? I might be on the other side.”_

Junhwe’s brain stopped working. He was still all sweaty from the cleaning he had done, his hair was a complete mess and he hadn’t even had the chance the brush his teeth yet.

He took a deep breath to calm his heart down, hung up and walked up to the front door, opening it swiftly. Jinhwan was indeed standing there, wearing one of his many signature oversized hoodie and smiling widely.

“ _Sorry, I know it’s sudden, but I wanted to talk to you face-to-face.”_ he said sheepishly.

Junhwe shrugged the apology away, letting the elder enter the house.

As soon as Jinhwan was inside, his eyes stopped on a few crates in a corner of the living-room, his smile only widening.

“ _So you really want to move in with me?”_ Jinhwan asked.

Junhwe felt the blood rush to his face.

“ _Well yes, I really hate the emptiness of this house and I know you’re struggling with the rent, so...”_ Junhwe trailed off, feeling only further more embarrassed when Jinhwan’s face went from surprise to genuine happiness.

Junhwe was indeed far too gone.

  


  


  


  


  


28th April 2017, Seoul.

  


  


The next days had gone by too quickly for Junhwe’s taste. Jinhwan and himself, occasionally helped by Donghyuk or Dongmin, some days even Haneul, had moved out all of Junhwe’s stuff to Dongmin’s old room at Jinhwan’s flat. They had decided to put Junhwe’s mother’s stuff in Junhwe’s new room as well, since there wasn’t exactly anywhere else where they could have been put.

Before Junhwe knew it, all of his clothings and crates were over at Jinhwan's and there was nothing left in the house.

He had felt a vague ache in his heart when he had contacted an agency, telling them he wanted to sell the house. He had had to fill in a few papers and it had definitely been the least enjoyable experience of Junhwe’s entire life.

Thankfully, once he had been done with the paper, the agency had taken care of all the rest.

The house wasn’t sold yet, but Junhwe didn’t have the key any more and he hadn’t gone there for more than a week already.

He didn’t feel any sadness, but maybe a bit of nostalgia invading his mind now and then when he thought back on his childhood room.

But he had needed the change. He felt happier now that he was living with Jinhwan. His surroundings weren’t so quiet any more and it wasn’t empty at all.

  


  


Junhwe stretched out his arms above his head as he took the familiar path down the Seoul cemetery. He almost never went to his mother’s grave, but he knew that the next days were going to be busy with exams and he probably wasn’t going to be able to come any time soon.

It was around 2pm and the weather was very warm for the end of April. The sun was shining down Junhwe’s nape strongly, making him worry about getting sunstroke.

As he walked down the small path through hundreds of other graves, Junhwe thought back on all the events that had happened in his life during the past months.

It had taken only a mere second for his life to completely change.

Six months ago he had learnt about the existence of Lycoi, and how his best friend wasn’t human, nor was his favourite Hyung. There were days on which Junhwe wished he had never found out, because that would have meant that he would never have found out that he wasn’t human either.

But then he remembered that his mother would have still be taken as a hostage and without the protection from the Cloud Pack, he would have most definitely been killed as well.

  


Junhwe had been angry at first, he had been so furious with Mino that he could have punched the man. But now, months later, Junhwe understood that he had probably tried his best.

At least, Junhwe was alive, and he should probably be thankful for that.

Things might not have turned out the best way possible, but it could have been way worse.

Junhwe was safe, the war was over and he had managed to be happy again and he was determined to keep that happiness.

  


Junhwe glanced up at the expanse of blue that was the sky, feeling a soft smile spread out on his lips.

He was thankful, for everything that had happened. Of course, it had been painful, and it still was, _but it had gotten better._

  


After a few minutes of walking, Junhwe finally stopped in front his mother’s grave. It had been made out of white marble and under the strong sunlight, the stone almost seemed to glow.

The ground was dirty and filled with fallen leaves, but Junhwe sat down in front of the grave nonetheless.

  


“ _Hi mom,”_ he said, his voice incredibly loud in the solemn silence of the graveyard.

Although there was a smile on his lips, Junhwe had to fight back the tears. Coming here always made him way too emotional. Never before had he craved a hug from his mother as bad as he did in that moment.

His mother had always been a rather cold woman and they almost never hugged. Now that she wasn’t there any more, Junhwe found himself wishing that they did hug more when he was younger.

He had never told her, but he really loved the way her long jet-black hair smelt.

Maybe it was about time he did.

“ _I really loved your hair, mom,”_ he said, his voice dying out from the emotion.

Junhwe took a short break, looking up at the sky once more. He didn’t even really know what he should tell her. She probably couldn’t even hear him anyways.

“ _I...I love you, mom,”_ he then said, fighting the sob that had threatened to leave his lips.

  


Junhwe had been the typical hormonal teenager, acting as if he was better than everybody else and being completely and utterly ungrateful.

Now he regretted acting the way he did. He should have told her that he loved her more.

  


  


Junhwe took another deep breath, calming his heart down and trying to ease the knot in his throat. There were many things that he wanted to tell her, but he knew that if spoke again, he would end up crying.

Junhwe didn’t want to cry any more.

  


He slowly got up, brushing a few leaves off his pants and with a last glance to the grave, he left the cemetery. He could always come back in a few months. He wanted to find the time to visit his mother.

For now, Jinhwan was waiting for him, back in their flat, their home.

  


  


There had been bad days, there had been terrible days, but now that the storm was over, Junhwe could enjoy the spring of his life to its fullest.

Now, he had a home to come back to.

Now, Junhwe could feel the happiness of saying _‘I’m back!’_ and hear, soon after, the clear voice of his boyfriend telling him ‘ _Welcome home!’_.

Maybe love was about being lost and confused, or maybe it was about feeling like your heart is about to explode.

Either way, Junhwe didn’t care. All he knew, and all he needed to know, was that he was happy, and that the people that mattered to him also were.

  


  


_The End._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, this it guys ! ~ FINALLY ! 
> 
> I'm so proud that I managed to finish this story and share it to the world.
> 
> I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that you had at least half the pleasure reading that I had writing this story. It was a great experience for me to know that I had the capacity to finish a project. I tend to give up a lot, especially regarding stories, and it's really nice to know that I can, if I try. 
> 
> I don't have arrogance to say that this story was perfect, nor am I saying that it was a good story at all. I kinda cringe when I read it again lol. But at least it leaves a lot of space for improvement, and that is what I strive.
> 
> As I mentioned earlier in the beginning notes, I'm currently working on a new fanfic (BTS centered this time) and I have two other plots for brand new stories so "The Lycoi Serie" isn't the end of it guys ! I really hope that you'll check out my other stories in the future and that you'll enjoy them as well.
> 
> If you're interested in checking out the next one, here is the link:  
> AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11302056/chapters/25288950  
> AFF: https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1264017/
> 
> There is a sixth ''chapter'' coming, but it will only be a few links and a disclaimer, just like for The Cloudy One, so don't feel pressured to check it out.
> 
> Please do leave a comment if you enjoyed this story. Reviews are what keep writers happy with their own work ~
> 
> THANK YOU !! ~


	6. Author's ramble

So, well, this is it, it is OVER! 

 

Here is my ASKfm account that I literally created for the only purpose of being able to answer any questions regarding this fanfiction. So, if you have some, feel free to go there and ask questions.  
https://ask.fm/nereno

Here is the link to a Pinterest board on which I uploaded the different pictures I used for the wolf form descriptions of the different characters. If you're the more visual kind of reader, you might enjoy seeing the Lycoi the way I imagined them.  
https://fr.pinterest.com/camillew0374/the-cloudy-one-wolves/

\-----------

Disclaimer.

This is a work of fan fiction using characters inspired from real people, I do not own any of the characters beside Haneul, Dongmin, Chaemin and Donghyun. I do not claim ownership of the characters and the people that they're inspired from. The story and situation that I am creating are a work of my imagination and I do not ascribe them to the idols's lives. This is a work intended for entertainment and I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story.

 

\---------

And so, The Lycoi Serie ended, thank you very much!


End file.
